Posted by Jess
17 June 2011

I've been delaying this post for a few days as this week has been very busy and I was working through the final details of our next adventures.  I know many of you have been asking about what's next for us.  As it took a little longer to get all sorted out, this news comes a little late. 

I am very excited to say that today I am headed home to the US.  Permanently.  I'm currently at the airport for my return trip to Minneapolis, where I'll have lots of family waiting to help celebrate the girls' birthdays. 

Life has been crazy and a roller coaster of emotions this past week.  After getting back from Singapore, I went to close our bank account.  Then the movers came on Sunday morning to pack up our shipment.  This was a stressful experience.  When they walked in, the movers said "this will never fit in your shipping carton."  So for two hours I prioritized with them - what had to go, what could stay, and helped them pack our things into the smallest places possible.  As it turns out, it almost all fit.  This was a huge relief since I already had 4 suitcases headed back with me and didn't want to take anymore!  On Sunday I cancelled our mobile phones and then headed into work for the evening.

This week was 4 days of all-day meetings to wrap up my part of the project I've been working on in Japan.  Although I wasn't the main speaker, it was a hectic week of managing logistics, materials and of course participating in the meetings myself.  Plus I was working to finish up other loose ends on the project.  There was not a lot of sleep happening at my house, that's for sure!

Wednesday was Ella's 5th Birthday.  It was a tough day for me to not be able to celebrate with her that day, but I did try to Skype and call.  As it turns out, she said it wasn't her birthday yet since there was no cake, presents or party.  I guess I was off the hook for not being there.

Wednesday night my coworkers and I went to the baseball game and had drinks at my apartment.  It was nice to just take the night off from work and relax a bit - it was very much needed.  But another late night  meant not enough sleep!

Thursday we had our last day of meetings, which was so great to finish up.  We had a celebration dinner at night that turned into a looooonggg karaoke session.  It was a blast - and I found some new favorites! - but didn't help with sleep issue!  I got home around 2am and packed until 4, then was up for work on Friday morning.

Today has been the craziest of days.  Until noon it was very busy, then slowed down and not it's just dragging on.   Saying goodbye to my coworkers felt weird - it hadn't hit me yet that I'm not coming back.  Then I had the apartment walk thru (inspection passed with flying colors, yay!) and closed our door for the last time.  It was hard not to cry as I was leaving the apartment.  I am very excited to get back to Jason and the girls, but sad that this adventure is ending.

So then to the airport...while I was checking in, my flight to Minneapolis was cancelled.  Then I was rebooked on a flight through Seattle with about a 3 hour delay from original arrival time to Minnesota.  While we were checking me in for that flight, the flight to Seattle got delayed so then I was rebooked to arrive in Minneapolis at 6pm on Friday the 17th.  The girls' birthday party is on the 18th so getting home on the 17th was a bit critical for me.  Usually these things get me all worked up (you all know what I'm like when my plans get changed unexpectedly) but this time I just had to laugh.  My brother is flying from Seattle to Minneapolis today too, but he'll be on the morning flight so he'll get in at noon and I won't arrive until 6.  Not ideal for the family to have to pick us up, but oh well - at least I'm getting there!

As I was going through security, I realized that I had in my carryon bag some items from our adventures here - namely a bottle of olive oil and a container of syrup.  You'd think I'd never flown before, trying to carry-on large bottles of liquid.  Clearly I wasn't coherent while I was packing.  I wonder what other crazy things I'll find when I get home.  I went through immigration and turned in my alien registration card and the girls too, since they left so unexpectedly.  At least that went smoothly.

What a wacky week.  I'm looking forward to getting some sleep on the flight and having a bit more energy when I get back to Minnesota.  I'll get back in time to wish Abby a happy 2nd birthday and in 24 hours I can kiss my girls goodnight.  And that's all that matters to me.

Thank you to everyone that has followed our adventures this past year.  Your reading encouraged us to keep up with posting and that means we'll have a great way to remember this fantastic year in our life.  It's been more of an adventure than we ever thought it would be, that's for sure.  I think this year has made us stronger as a family and helped me to understand better my small place in the world.  I know that I've been forever changed by this experience and I'm so grateful for that.

So what's next for the Woehrle clan, you ask?  First a much needed week of time with the girls.  And then on the 27th I'll go back to work.  In Florida.

I've accepted a job with a division of my company that is based in Jacksonville, Florida.  Over the coming weeks we'll be working on getting our house in Minnesota ready to rent out and finding a house in Florida to rent (near the beach, of course).  Today I can't think much about the chaos that the next few months will bring, but after these past few months, I've learned to just roll with it.   We'll figure it all out, we always do.  Jason and I are excited to get settled in somewhere together as a family and I'm looking forward to a new position at work with brand new challenges and opportunities.    And the girls are looking forward to being annual passholders at Disney World!

I think my flight is boarding soon....I hope....

Kanpai!
Jess

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