“Just after Ramadan, things will pick up… well, after Eid. Probably after summer ends.”
For even wanting to stick around, clearly I had lost sight of any exit plan. New friends, conversations to be had, involvement with the church, new travel ideas, a few months of good weather ahead. While letting go of the unfinished often feels unnatural, I suppose it’s not always irresponsible.
I was considering Abu Dhabi or somewhere in the US. But as of a year ago, God had been building the idea of Western Australia, and ultimately he provided a way by November. I didn’t need to visit- instead, I jumped on a plane and went home to surprise my family after two years of being away.
Chad collected me from ATL and welcomed me with Doritos, Cherry Coke, and Zaxby’s. We drove to Florence the next morning. Highlights of the trip were doubling back to clean out Tim’s litter box five minutes into the trip, Chad angrily driving laps through a Burger King drive-thru, and having rest stop patrons take our picture.
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| From US Thanksgiving 2010 |
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| From US Thanksgiving 2010 |
(Reference shot of Penny and Tim fighting on Cathy's pillow- just for you Cathy!)
We surprised my mom and dad, and soon the rest of my family at Thanksgiving. I was humbled by their loving reception, and also a little silly / ashamed for being away for so long and out of touch. And surprised by my own southern drawl!
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| From US Thanksgiving 2010 |
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| From US Thanksgiving 2010 |
I was humbled by my friends. Rose and Brian drove down and introduced me to baby Annabelle, Cathy M (whom I hadn’t seen in 5 years) came in from Charlotte for the afternoon with the kids, and Aaron and Lise Z stopped and stayed the night en route from South Florida to DC. I felt extremely honored and loved to see good friends go so far out of their way to catch up. My reunions with Scott and Minnemie are more enjoyable, as Minnemie is an expat in her own right, and daily I learn more about her experience and her background than she’s told me.
Chad, Cathy, Caren, and I resumed our “Black Friday” tradition. This deserves a post, but it generally consists of 4 AM queuing outside Target with the rest of Florence, rushing stores for sale items, usually coming out with nothing except for bruises on Cathy from people running into her with shopping carts, and hitting up all major retailers by 10 AM. The night beforehand, we practiced our elbow jabs to ensure we’d reach the discounted Wii games, mini LED-flashlights, and $3 toasters.
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| From US Thanksgiving 2010 |
Florence County was out en masse, and I was especially impressed by the rush at Home Depot for $1 poinsettias.
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| From US Thanksgiving 2010 |
After Florence, I spent time in Charleston and Gainesville to catch up with friends. Highlights were reminiscing over the good old days in Dubai with Chris A; gathering pecans and kayaking with Tara in the retention pond out her backdoor; the 4th annual lighting of the manger scene (reprised for me); Christmas light drive on James Island with Tara, Jessica, Trent, and Nan; gathering with Monica and Andres from GNV, Julie and Brian, Barbara, and Lila and Josh despite being under a tornado-watch on a weeknight; decorating for Christmas with Jen and Darren and Hodge; and catching up with old coworkers . Jen nixed one of our traditions- making margaritas from the neighbor’s grapefruits. Jen announced she is expecting, so it was a blessing to receive the news in person. I got by on Darren’s beers.
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| From US Thanksgiving 2010 |
A big thanks to everyone who sacrificed to catch up and host me- you made it painful to leave the US again.
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| From US Thanksgiving 2010 |
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