Blog out!

And so with that, 166 posts...it's time to "Blog Out".

We are getting settled back into routine - We are back in the USA and in full swing of MN summer - trips to the cabin and Grandma's, visits to the zoo, BBQ with friends and plenty of Target runs.

Within the last 3 months, we will have gotten a "new" country, new temporary house, new temporary school for Caden, new job for me, new job for Wade, two new cars, a permanent new house, permanent new school for Caden and an unconscionable amount of new stuff...not to forget a new baby boy on the way! A lot of change, even for crazies like us! Next year, I might not even change my underwear (that's a joke, for those of you who read this too seriously). But in any case, the past 18 months have been exciting and fun, interesting and above all an adventure. All is well, and we feel truly happy and blessed.

So, that's a wrap for that chapter - alavidha, namaste and shubha raatri.
Goodbye and good night.

So, What's it Like?

I can not believe we've been "home" for 3 months. I look at the pictures posted here and there are days it seems like a weird dream. Was that really our life? Did we really do that? It is surreal.
Time has not slowed down here and the questions about India or MN have become less frequent but no easier to answer succinctly or meaningfully. I still think my closest proxies for an answer are the equally difficult rhetorical questions like "what is is like to be a parent?". In any event, I jotted down a few thoughts on things I'll miss about India, and things I'll enjoy about being in the US.... here goes.

Things I miss about India:

• The Murphy's. They get their own line and come first because I doubt we will ever again get such great friends that really, really become like family. Wow do we miss you guys - and there's days I feel like Caden, trying to inflate his bed pillow using a bike pump and all his might "so that it can fly and go pick up those Murphy kids and be right back." Tracy and Tom - you made this whole crazy adventure possible and we never could have done it without you, let alone had such amazing fun along the way.
  
• The friends. The Fisher's, the Hegde's, the Fuch's, Radha and Stuti, Ashish... we were truly blessed to have such amazing friends. Although our time together was short, it will be FOREVER in our hearts as treasured. There just aren't the words to express what a great addition and impact you've had on our lives.
• Weekends. And a special mention here for the Taj West - true luxury and all you can drink champagne in the heart of Bangalore. But beyond that, the weekends of just nothing - no driver, nowhere to get to even if you wanted, no power at times... weekends in India were the time to "turn it all off" and retreat behind the gates of Palm Meadows - up to the pool and the spa - and just relax with family and friends. These casual times rocked. Seriously, the first taco night here was SOOOO easy to execute - but it just wasn't the same.
• Vacation. Yep, we definitely made it a priority - clear to anyone who has read any of this blog. Without a mortgage or cars (or any assets to go with them, but that's another story), we made seeing India and enjoying weekend vacations and amazing trips frequently possible. This is really a blessing and a luxury that we feel more valuable than any acquired asset.
• Sunny weather. I do realize that while MN summer rocks, and it's monsoon in India now... the weather in Bangalore was pretty cool. Er, warm. And it was most days. I think there may be a day or two come January where I again contemplate that pool trip we tried not to take for granted every weekend.
• Laughing. There are so many laughs - at yourself, at the world, at the comedy of it all. (You have to laugh or cry, and we usually picked laughing.) I think of pizzas cut and delivered in halves, and crazy expressions, and silly quests to buy cleaning supplies, and demonic power failures, and poop stories, and half-crazed attempts to cook simple things...the laughs are priceless.
• Flow - or trying to. Related to the above is the serious life lesson of learning to be "here only". It was something of a mantra - mein idhar hoon, that graced my board at work and I tried to burn into my consciousness. Just BE... here... only. Not caught up in whatever illusion of control you may be able to exert at home - over your environment or anything else - just learning to flow a little bit. Don't get me wrong, most people would still consider me quite Type A...but for glimpses of time, I learned a new appreciation for being not in control...of anything. And no one here "gets it" when I quip "I'm here only" as a happy reply to whatever question is posed. And how does America get by without the head-bobble - a quintessential non-committal gesture with multiple and untold meaning?
  
• Diversity. There is nothing I've seen like the variety of India - total sensory overload and constant unexpectedness. I didn't always love this part but I really appreciate the impact it had, the laughs it generated and the stretching of the mind.
• Perspective. India is a great place for perspective. With the diversity, you could always find something worse or better, poorer or richer, smellier or cleaner, more appalling or more magnificent. Although tangibly this is something to miss, I hope I carry it with me always - a new perspective on how very blessed we are in life, to have had such an amazing adventure with friends and opportunities and struggles and laughs... to return to a home with a new but familiar and maybe expanded world of possibilities.

Things I enjoy being in the US:

• The Comfort Zone: Living where you were born and raised is undeniably comfortable - expressions like "there's no place like home" come to mind. I think this is true for most people wherever they were raised- the predictability and ease of "home" are comfortable. It's funny, I wrote these thoughts on the plane, and as I write that now I realize this first bullet point it the thing I also find most unsettling - the fact that nearly everything seems to go as predicted, and is so easy...it's hard to dull the senses after being outside of the comfort zone for so long.
• Family. It is great to be home with family - able to talk without the hassle of Skype and power failures or time zone differences. And here for life events - graduation parties and birthdays and Mother's Day. It was hard to miss all these things last year plus, and I'm especially grateful to be here now.
• Friends. Settling back into friends here has been fun - what a great feeling to come home to such a great welcome. It's hard to describe, but the comfort factor comes up again - knowing that with few exceptions, these are people that aren't going to leave. There is no need to ask or remember "when your assignment ends" and when you'll need to say good-bye. You get to keep the friends you make for life...close by.
  
• FOOD. No surprise here... preggers and home (with mom at that) is working well for me. I've put on 25 pounds. Fat and Happy am I. And in perfect digestive health thank you very much. I love the variety of awesome foods here - not only safe and beautiful, but with varying textures and spice, or lack of. Ok, I won't footnote everything, but another thought here is that only my team in India would actually make a comment on my weight for me - wow, you've put on weight remarked one team member on video. Only to have another write to tell me that he'd "heard" I put on weight...could I send a photo? I have to laugh. :)
  
• Clean. MN is so clean - nearly sterile, but I still wiped my desk with Lysol today - because I CAN. The water is clean - I can drink from the tap without fear. I can drive by the river without disgust or sadness. The environment is clean - no garbage littering the streets or debris strewn everywhere, no stray dogs. My house is clean (thanks mom) and totally free from critters and pests - no ant cleaning crew either. And I haven't seen a single person peeing in the streets or anywhere else since I've been back.
• Driving. I love to drive...in my own car, with the radio wherever I want it and the temp where I like it and how fast or crazy or slow or indirectly I choose. But beyond that, I TOTALLY took for granted the freedom of movement that we enjoy here - jump in your car whenever you like and get there in a hurry without worrying a whole lot about traffic or protests or road closure or bad directions or bad drivers (except yourself!).
• Convenience. It is SO EASY to get just about anything here. Click click and things are delivered - I love online shopping. Drive and get whatever you want, or you don't even have to - it's in the skyway. It is amazing how truly available and convenient it is to get and do things here. Madonna's "material girl" song makes a reprieve in my head...
• Being alone. I am a solid introvert and to really recharge, I love to be alone - this is fantastically easy here and the lack of crowds and constant interactions is appreciated. As a side note, this again is at times unsettling - as much as I love it, it does feel kind of odd at times.
  
• Hot showers. It seems so simple perhaps, but I really do still appreciate every one - every time I turn on the shower and it's just warm on demand. It's a daily reminder of things I used to take for granted but now appreciate.
• Perspective. We're "back" now - but I hope we carry it with us forever - the perspective of having been "on the outside" once. It was an amazing journey, and we're blessed to have had the experiences and blessed to have returned "home" with a wealth of new friends, new memories and new perspectives.

Thank you. We are truly grateful.

Jewel Cave

Our adventures across the great plains took us to Jewel Cave, outside Custer and near the Black Hills. We were all ready for a break from the car ride and an underground hike seemed like a good opportunity. Jewel Cave is the second largest cave in the world. Our trip was only for about a half mile of the area, and was entirely on a path with a tour guide, Laura, who Caden quickly befriended.

So on down into the depths we went....

It was a good excursion to see a number of calcite crystal-encrusted walls and it was a fun experience.

Yellowstone

Our trek took us through Yellowstone, where we decided to spend a couple days to see the sites. Although I think Caden had the best experience in terms of getting around, it was, all in all, a very fun and relaxing experience. The first stop was at Mammoth Hot Springs....

Of course Caden felt that he had a role to play in taking the pictures, and I have to admit that he did a pretty good job, except that he was a little vertically challenged. This is Gary and me at the mud volcano geyser.The highlight for Caden's trip had to be the remaining snow throughout the park. He was determined to have a good go at enjoying winter, even though he was supposed to have missed it entirely. Every snow pile we came across was a challenge to be conquered and so a small portion of each day ended up dedicated to snow mountaineering.
Even the small snow piles had to be tested.

Caden wanted to demonstrate his eye for art and photography. He titled this picture, "Bush" which was taken at Mammoth Hot Springs.
Our stay was at the Yellowstone Hotel, which was built in 1891 by the railroad. There was no internet (and no cell phone coverage), no TV and no elevator (we were on the second floor). The restaurant was pretty good (it is the only one around), but apparently the chef has a preference for leaving a little "moo" still in the steak.
The weather was great and nobody fell into any geysers!But let's hear it from Caden.....





And what trip to Yellowstone wouldn't be complete without a trip to Old Faithfull!

Life on the Homefront

Visiting the family in Idaho gave everyone a chance to get reacquainted. Caden hadn't seen his cousins for a couple years, but building with blocks is great way to catch up.

Of course the home family dinner is a good way to visit. It does seem that when you let the kids run all day, they are very ready for supper.

I thought I'd take Gary and Caden out to the back yard to show them where I played when I was little. Caden was a little unsure of his footing at first, but soon started to catch on.

Another picture of the back yard, looking over the Greer Bridge and Clearwater river. Caden is discussing the path on how to get back to the house.

Fishin' with the Family

When Caden's cousins arrived to the homestead, it was time to take the kids fishing for Kokanee. Even though the reservoir water was low, we were sure we could catch some fishes; if we can just make it all the way down this long boat ramp......

Caden had a preference for stopping on the shore and throwing rocks in the lake to tease the dog...

But, in general, we enjoyed a liesurely afternoon catching fish.

Caden was a little competitive with his younger cousing, Will, regarding who was catching the most fish.

Fish On! Let the games begin

As soon as we reached Idaho, Caden was ready to fish. It didn't matter to him that it was supposed to rain, or that it was only 50 degrees F. There were fish to be caught! So off we went for Kokanee, which is a fresh water salmon and a favorite for its delicious red meat. We managed to catch enough for dinner and Caden was soon in his element.
After the hard day of fishing, it was cuddle time with Grandpa before going to bed.
And then back at it the next day...
And of course, when he isn't fishing with a pole, he is practicing on the Nintendo fishing game (and in this case, teaching his cousin Emme, the finer points of Barracuda fishing).