Learning Lessons....Summer Recap

This summer we were blessed to be able to go back to the US for 6 weeks. I love being in Hong Kong, but there is such comfort in going "home." And this begs the question, where, exactly, is home? I know many folks who live in the same area their whole lives. There is such a sense of community and family in that, and I miss it. Sometimes, I am jealous of it. For me, that area is Maine. My extended family is there. I grew up in the same house in the same town; I go back to the same haunts every year. It is home.

BUT.

I married a Michigander. 18 or so hours away from Maine. And when we visit there, I think, "I could live here."

AND.

We lived in North Carolina for 16 years. It is home to our children, who were all raised there. I love the South, in many ways more than the North, and  I am very much at home drinking sweet tea and eating BBQ (Lexington style!).

SO.

When we visit, where do we go? We go "home." Here are the highlights:

We flew from Hong Kong to Taipei, Taiwan on EVA Air; we saw the airport:

We landed in LA. And stayed at the airport for 14 hours. You do what you can to be comfortable:

We flew to Atlanta on Southwest and visited Mike's sister Marcia, and all her family:

Then we drove to North Carolina and visited friends and family there. We didn't want to leave...the time was too short. And yes, we drank sweet tea and had Carter Brother's BBQ:

Then came the familiar, if not tedious, drive to Maine. We did stop for a few hours to visit Liberty University, Will's number one pick for next year:

And then there was Maine. Family and camp and whoopie pies and lobster and loons and lakes and sailboats. For a little over a month, I drank in every day. If a picture speaks a thousand words, here's 13K for you:

 Then we were up for a 19 hour drive to Michigan, stopping on the way in Chester, Vermont for a scrumptious lunch with our wonderful friends the Nunnikhovens:

We ended our summer with more family time in Michigan...with campfires and walks along the Black River and frosty mugs at the A&W:

And then we flew, from Detroit to LA to Taiwan back to Hong Kong and here we are again, back to this city of amazing contrasts:

What did I learn? I learned that hellos are almost always happy and goodbyes are almost always sad. That there are so many advantages to growing up and staying put in the same place, where ever that may be.

AND YET.

If I had been unwilling to move, to say "YES" to this somewhat nomadic life, I would be so much the poorer, lesser person for it. I would not have known the pleasures of southern sweet tea or Michigan frosty mugs or Hong Kong dim sum and waffle cones. I would never have met many of the people who are dear friends and I might never have realized that family is where the heart is, no matter where God puts you!