2 months Home and Lessons Learned

At some point we will stop talking about our trip but in a lot of ways it has been a game changer in our lives.  The other day, the kids were talking how long we've been home from Europe.  It's now been just over two months.  That trip feels like a dream.  I am so glad we went because of all the wonderful things we learned and experienced.  There were lots of times we were ready to bag it and come home but I'm glad we stuck it out.  Not, so many of those rough moments have faded and we're left with rich and rewarding memories.  Not a day goes by that someone doesn't mention something from our trip.  Hannah and Jonathan have had enriched experiences at school already because of their greater context of the world.  

While we loved the trip, we learned a few things about how we would change it for next time.  For our family, it was hard and lonely to be away from home for so long without really living in one place.  If we do this again we've decided to either take a month and be tourists and experience all we can in a month, hit it hard and fast or take the plunge and move.  Sell the house or at least really pack it up and move for at least one year though I think 3 would be a better for cultural immersion.  There are perks to all ways of doing it.  It really depends on what work at the given moment.

Since coming home, life has gotten so busy.  There are home improvement projects to work on, church callings to fulfill, school activities and so many other endeavors to pursue.  We're trying hard to preserve the family time we had in Europe but find that we quickly fall into the old traps.  The trip has certainly given us a lot to think about and a new rubric to evaluate our time by.