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sweet tea and other perks

We've been back in America for just over 2 weeks now. For some reason, I decided that caffeine doesn't really count in sweet tea and I drank too much, too late yesterday afternoon. So now at 3:29am, I'm up and totally awake.

Running here is such a joy. I love running through the neighborhoods of Dover. There is this one super steep hill that is so hard but once I turn to run back down, there's this great view over the houses and every time I rejoice in what I can see. I get this really satisfied, happy feeling as I'm running past light pink dogwoods and this one bright, bright purple azalea. I look at the sky and no matter if it's cloudy or sunny, it's so beautiful to me. I'm really glad we are here.

Madeleine and Lilian are in and out of the house all day. It's amazing how much a yard does for a kid's spirit. Yesterday evening, they were in the front lawn spinning and laughing as it drizzled. It was so sweet.

Life right now is relaxing and calm. I really like the calm. That's something I really notice about living here. I feel calm and life around me does too. I know it's because of my experiences in China, where there are people everywhere, all the time. Even the littlest task outdoors often feels hurried and full there.

We like going to the Dover Elem. school playground in the evenings. It's a nice walk from the Steiner's house. We were there yesterday evening and towards the end of our time we were the only people on the whole school grounds. It's like I'm taking a big sweet breath in and releasing slowly in contentment. Living somewhere that's been really hard for me over the last 2 years, sure makes me appreciate the little, ordinary things of American life.

So good to be back.


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