Jump

Now that the boys have safely returned to Delhi, it is time to bring back the blog from summer vacation. We had a terrific seven weeks in the USA. We loved our new house, our many visits from family and friends, our new neighbors, the golden retriever across the street, our little beach with a floating dock, meat and seafood and nachos on the grill, the laid-back, beachy routine. It even surprised us just how quickly this place became home - how completely different this home is from the Delhi home, but both equally familiar and comfortable.

On my trip back, I had a window seat from Amsterdam to Delhi and next to me was a woman about my age and to her right was her husband. A few hours into the flight, I asked the woman if she could get up to let me out. In response, she leaned back in her seat just a tiny bit, looked me right in the eye and said "Just jump!" I was at first flattered that she believed that I could spring from a cramped, seated position up and over two adults and actually land my feet in the aisle. But after my half-hearted attempt to squeeze by, she shoved her husband into the aisle so that I only had to crawl over one person and not two. Eh, thanks.

This stranger's command to jump was the first reminder that I was on my way back to what can sometimes be an exasperating place to live but also a metaphor for the leap being made between two homes and two cultures. It seems impossible that our family has a genuine sense of normalcy in these two vastly different locations. When we are here, it is difficult to picture life there. And when we are there, we can't quite remember what our life is like here. Yet we somehow jump from one home to the other and back again.

Now the school year has officially begun. This music video was featured by our inspirational School Director at the first all-faculty meeting of the new year:

Today, Asa had his second day of second grade and Liam started kindergarten:

Surely there will be lots of stories to tell over the months ahead and we look forward to sharing them with you. Thank you for checking in and please leave a comment or send an email if there is something you wish to read about in a future post!