It was the last leg of our long journey back to the US and I was reading my new Better Homes and Gardens magazine on my iPad. Patriotic pictures and articles flooded my mind. The sadness of leaving Singapore had been replaced with all of the good things of the great USA! Just in time for the 4th of July; one of my favorite holidays. As the plane landed and we were all tired from the lack of sleep I couldn't help but feel light and happy in my heart. We were home! Now, don't get me wrong, Singapore was great and we had some amazing experiences, but the US is my home and always will be. It was good to be back!
Our first week greeted us with amazing weather. (70s and low humidity) We had the windows open and I actually had to wear a sweater in the evenings. Such a relief! Every morning I was serenaded by a bird that must have been perched just outside the sky light in our bedroom. After a couple of days I realized that I hadn't heard the sound of song birds in the year we were gone. I had really missed it. Over the course of the next few weeks I realized that birds were everywhere I went. "Welcome back" they said!
We spent our second week back at my parents up north. The cooler weather was even better there. I helped my Mom prepare for our church's 73rd annual 4th of July picnic. I fried chicken, baked pies and whipped up the most beautiful batch of cupcakes for the bake stand. E got to play outside in the soft green grass and enjoyed setting up pretend picnics for her Grandma and Grandpa. It was a glorious week! We ended the trip with canoeing and the special treat of a bald eagle sighting. Did he come out to welcome us home too?
"My Beautiful and Yummy Cupcakes"
Back in Charlotte we settled in and realized we had to figure out what we wanted to do next. The hubby was looking for a job and our goal would be for it to be out West somewhere. Out West you might ask? Well, since we are in transition we may as well go somewhere we wanted to be. We have always dreamed of living out West, but it just never seemed like to right time to go. Now is the time! In the meantime, we knew that we need to get E in school and find a job. We decided that while we try to get out West we needed to make the most of our time here in Charlotte. Here is where the next part of our adventures begin.
What happens when you move to another country? You sell your car and rent your home. Repatriating proved to have its own set of issues.
Luckily, we had kept our little one bedroom condo in the city. We had a bed to sleep in and a roof over our head but, we knew that all 3 of us sleeping in one bedroom and living in 800 sq ft wasn't going to cut it for long. We had gotten really good at living in a smaller space, but when you only have 2 rooms (not counting the bathroom) it is hard to get away from everyone. One thing that we loved about Singapore was the fact that we could walk to things, take public transportation and ride our bikes. As we weighed our options on where to live we really wanted to continue doing those things. That can be hard in many parts of the city, but we had some options. We decided to move back into my old house which we had kept as a rental property for the last 10 years. It is located in a continually up and coming part of town. Just down the street is a natural food store, a public park, and the light rail station. It is only 1 1/2 miles from E's new school and has a nice large yard. The house was originally built in the 40s and even though I had done a lot of cosmetic work while I lived there the place desperately need a face lift. The kitchen had been redone in the early 70s and the 2 bathrooms had few improvements.
Factor in a whole house renovation (well almost). Our next big adventure! We have decided to do most of the work ourselves to save money and since neither of us is working it is a good time. Our plan includes a new kitchen, 2 new bathrooms, new floors etc. etc. And, those are just the big things.
So, the adventure isn't over. A new one is just beginning! We are all excited about our new old home and are looking forward to having more space and a yard again.
Hello America!
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