I started making this "what's going on in life- the pros and cons" list in response to a friends email, and then decided I may as well turn it into a post. Twofer!
Here's our latest, covering the bases of the (mostly unanswered....) emails and messages friends and family have sent.
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| 👋👋 |
Cons:
- It is hot. All. The. TIme. Don't talk to me about how hot it gets in DC in the summer. DC summer ends.
- My hair looks like shit, again, all the time. (I guess I can sling to the pro column that I have almost completely given up wearing makeup- possibly also a con- since it's a complete waste of time.)
- Leah needs work. Leah is not a stay at home mom. No one should be surprised by this....
- Guam is expensive. We are super #blessed to have base access so that we can get cheaper food/goods/gas. It's tough to be a local.
- We spend a ton of our time in cars. It's all cars all the time on Guam. And because we have to carseat-up two kids every time, and you know, fossil fuel dependency, this is a big irritant for us.
- We were super duper sick for the entire month of April. At no time was someone not pooping, crying, sweating, shivering, occasionally vomiting, or doing laundry. Parents, I know you feel me when I say we almost lost our minds. Gavin was hobbling to work with a 103 fever...
- Gavin works a lot. It's still more manageable and fulfilling than Fellowship, but that dude spends muy time in the hospital.
- We REALLY miss you all. So much.
- We have two kids. (Kidding! Not kidding,...?)
Pros:
- We love our house. It's perfect for us in all ways. Feeling very lucky about that, because housing in Guam can be hit or miss. We have a community center around the corner where we play basketball and take free Zumba classes, there is a nice downtown a (very hilly and sweaty) walk away. It's 1 mile from the hospital, and 2 miles from the kids school. Solid!
- Guam is indeed an island paradise. The water/beaches/hills/jungle are absolutely beautiful. I am obsessed with the sky here. At any time it's filled with heavy/dramatic/bright clouds, rainbows, and crystal blues like I've never seen.
- The locals are insanely nice, friendly, and helpful. It's made the transition so much easier for us.
- The kids school stuff is getting settled out nicely. Still some bumps, but Misha is in a good PreK and just tested into another one for the fall (she's a December birthday so she'll be in preK till she's 14). Eli will start at the same school in a week. It is a Lutheran school, so there is a lot of singing about Jesus, which quite honestly Gavin and I don't know how to respond to, but we do love the musicality....
- Gavin and the kids planted a sweet little pot garden, and we're hoping for all kinds of herbs, tomato's, papaya, passion fruit, beans, etc.
- We're finally starting to make friends which makes a big difference. Everyone needs a couple of text messages here and there, right?
- I am volunteering for a local Senate campaign for an incredible trans woman who splits her time championing LGBTQ/human rights with environmental activism. Check her out and feel free to donate!
- I'm also picking up some other volunteer works here and there. I'll follow up more on this as it comes together!
- Gavin really likes his work. It's super challenging, but for the first time he's feeling fulfilled by it. (also see related con above....)
- We just booked a trip to Hong Kong for mid-June. Yay!
Here are a few pictures related to these lists. Enjoy!
These three photos are from are one evening walk in our neighborhood.
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| Constantly towing the line between love and homicide. |
