I believe I've missed each and every face...

I made it back to Seattle last Friday evening. The last several days have been a whirlwind of reunions, and in a way I feel like I've barely been able to catch my breath. But it's GOOD to be home.

The two questions I've been asked most often are "What was your favorite place on the trip?" and "What's next?". I'm not sure which of these questions is the more difficult for me to answer, but I will say I don't have a easy answer for either of them. I enjoyed every step of this incredible journey and while I certainly enjoyed some places more than others, choosing a "favorite" is so hard for me! As to what I'll do now... that's a tough one too...

When I interviewed with the Bonderman committee at the UW last year, they asked me what I was scared of with regards to embarking on this trip. I said then that my number one fear was that I would decide while I was gone that I didn't want to do what I'd just spent the last 6 or so years preparing to do (i.e. be a speech-language pathologist). Thankfully, that hasn't happened; I am still as excited as ever about my choice to become an SLP. What has changed for me I think is the sense of urgency I may have felt to "hurry up and get started". Coming off 9+ months of what was essentially a very long vacation, I am feeling incredibly relaxed and happy and laid back (for lack of a better phrase) and I think the challenge for me now is to figure out how to hang on to all of those feelings while transitioning to a more "normal" life. I'm planning on giving myself the summer to figure out where I'm headed. In the meantime, I'll be moonlighting as one of King County's most highly-qualified nannies and trying to catch up with the many, many, many people I've been missing over the last year.

I don't have a permanent residence right now, so I'll be floating around a bit. Happy to hear about any offers of spare bedrooms or comfy couches! :) I have a new phone number as well, so if you'd like that, shoot me an email.

Hope this finds you all doing well. There are new pictures up on the flickr site of the Paris extravaganza for Cory's birthday, so go check those out!

More soon...