A Year of Gratitude

We write this after Christmas, having been home for nearly two months and preparing for a quick trip to New Orleans before the New Year. We decided to stay home in November and get a couple of house projects done, or at least started. We also wanted that time to process the past year and try to discern what it has meant to us. Finally, it has been a great opportunity to re-connect with family and friends. We have missed you!

We certainly haven’t processed all of our experiences yet, and we look forward to working at that a bit more with the little time we have left of this year. People often ask us, “Which trip was your favorite?” That is a hard question as each adventure had its unique purpose and, in hind-sight, its own effect on us.

Fixing Computers!

Our trip to Tanzania was an exercise in living abroad. Three months was the longest either of us has been “away” while also being the longest we have been together without full-time work and other distractions. We learned a lot about how we spend time together. We also learned that home is where we are. We also tried to find ways in which we could be helpful, because that’s what we need, and gratefully we found many ways.

Beach Selfie (Groupie?)

Our time in Denmark was an opportunity to strengthen connections with a friend and his family, and settle into another culture without trying to be a tourist. It also felt very good for both of us to have had an opportunity to serve, each in our own way.

Visitors at home

Our experience in France was planned almost a year in advance and was meant to encourage people to step out of their culture and come visit us in one of our favorite places. We are so grateful to the family and friends who took us up on our offer and let us share that place and that “lifestyle” with them – at least for a short time. Even with all the visitors, this was probably the most “relaxed” part of our year! We were also happy to be able to spend time with our friends in the UK before returning home. We are always happy to see them, and this time we also got to explore some new places!

Ante's father, Emilijo, and Laura

Our trip to Croatia was unique for this year in that we didn’t take anyone with us, we didn’t know anyone there, and (with the exception of some time in Ireland on the way) neither of us had ever been there before. So it was really about us (just us!) exploring somewhere new together, and so it provided yet another new set of experiences and dynamics for us to appreciate.

Aunt Rosie

We did these trips between and around several other important events this year. We were saddened to lose Laura’s brother this year, but we feel blessed to have had a wonderful visit with him just before that and to be able to attend his funeral. We were saddened to lose a great friend in Seattle shortly after that, but we are grateful that we were able to spend several days with him just a little earlier, after we returned from Tanzania. We were able to attend several important family events, including weddings, funerals, and of course our family’s “week at the lodge”. There was Laura’s High School reunion, Paul’s Team Leader Training weekend, and so many impromptu events we appreciated so much. We treasure all these experiences, as we treasure the new (and improved!) friends we made along the way, and hope that we will see them again (or more often). Our hearts are full. 

Groupie with Wallace of Wallace and Gromit

We are also blessed to have had this time with each other. We got a glimpse of what our future might look like in a few years, we had fun, and we had many opportunities to grow as a couple, and maybe even get excited about growing older! 🙂

Round 3 at Le Comptoir

We cannot thank our brother-in-law Duane enough for taking care of, well, our whole life while we were gone. We have said it to him before, but we could not have had this year without his help. As we “minded the gaps” between our trips, he was always there waiting, hand out, to help us across. Muchas muchas gracias!

Laura officially started looking for a job the first week of December, but was approached by her old organization, CaringBridge as soon as we got home in late October. As of a couple weeks ago, she decided she will return to CaringBridge beginning the first of the year. It seems they missed her, and she feels like her work there is not done.

Paul is hoping to return to Tanzania for the month of February to continue his good work there with Mansuetus and Mater Dei Africa. There are many people there who miss him, and he will be excited to see them again.

Paul & Laura "at home".

As our gap year ends and we take a deep breath, we do so with tears of sadness and joy. We are grateful for our health and all the love that surrounds and supports us. We send our love to you this Holiday season, and look forward in hope of seeing you in the coming year!

Peace to All, 

Laura and Paul

[Still working on the pictures…]

4 Replies to “A Year of Gratitude”

  1. Youssef and Boshra Haddad

    We were fortunate to share few days with Paul and Laura in southern hern france. We loved it the experience and the closness.
    Mostly we thank them for the opportunity to make us part of their lives.

    Reply

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