Coming Back to Summer in the Midwest

We landed in the States back in June, took our time getting over jet lag, and have been reconnecting with people ever since.  Spending time with people is wonderful, but it takes a lot of time!  Which explains my complete inability to keep up with communications like blogging or writing a newsletter.  I am way overdue on both fronts.  But we've had sweet time with people in person, which we weren't sure would be possible when we planned our Home Assignment in the middle of a pandemic, so we are grateful.

The international flight from Nairobi to Doha to Chicago to Flint was incredibly smooth.  The boys all stayed awake until our flight left at 2am and they were superstar travelers.

All three of the boys are at an age when they can operate the airplane screens by themselves, and they're all at an age when they are completely entertained by said screens for hours on end.  And I mean hours.  We made them sleep for a few hours on the 15-hour flight from Doha to Chicago, but otherwise they completely entertained themselves with the screens.  It was magical!  I was free to watch something for myself and I have never done that ever on a plane with my children!  It was a whole new world!

There were only two real struggles over the course of our journey.  The first was in Doha when we went through security and discovered that Caleb's slingshot, which was in his backpack, was considered a weapon and therefore could not be carried in a carry-on.  The slingshot had been made for him by a Samburu warrior last year and Caleb really wanted to bring it to America and we, foolishly, never even considered that it shouldn't be put in a carry-on.  So there we were, stopped in security for a very long time because of a slingshot from Samburu.  We were given a choice: put it in a bag and check it planeside, or have it confiscated.  After debating the importance of the slingshot to our Third Culture Kid, we decided to rearrange our carry-ons in order to check one and get the special item back to America.  These are the things parents will do to help their kids!

The only other hiccup occurred when Kai and Asa completely zonked out at O'Hare while waiting for our last flight and could not be woken up to get on the plane.  Our departure gate had changed and we needed to get everyone a little further down the terminal and onto the plane, and neither of those boys could do it on their own.  Eli became the Carry-On Monster, carrying all the carry-ons for four people while I carried Asa in my arms and literally dragged a closed-eyed and whimpering Kai along to the next gate.  At that point we were not a picture of a happy family on our way back to our passport country after more than two years, but at least it was the last leg of the journey.  We made it, zombie kids and all, and my parents met us at the airport to haul our tired selves and 10 bags back to the house to sleep the sleep of international travelers.

For the next week we worked through jet lag.  It was summer in the Midwest and any time we were awake, day or night, it was beautiful outside.  And because we're living on a lake, we could swim, kayak, go for boat rides, or just sit on the deck and enjoy the view.  I challenge you to find a better way to work your way to the right time zone!

Coming back to summer in the Midwest was a treat.  Last time we came back to America it was in March, which was fine, but coming back to the smell of freshly mowed grass and the enchanting sight of glowing fireflies at dusk and listening to the sweet trill of red-winged blackbirds and eating fresh-picked strawberries and blueberries satisfied something deep in my Midwestern soul.  It's a wonderful time of year to be back.

And we've been busy enjoying it!  I'll put a smattering of photos in another post, but suffice it to say it's been a busy but good summer for the Horns.