The last week and a half we were in Aalesund, it rained like the dickens. I think they had more rain in those ten days than we’d seen the entire year. Everyone began saying that Fall was in the air, but that is now a land far, far away and we have landed in the middle of summer here in the Pacific Northwest! It’s been hot since we got home but we live in the shade of some very tall evergreen trees so our house has been wonderfully cool and inviting. It’s been perfect for unpacking and putting things away but if I move around a bit too fast, I break a sweat. I hate to sweat so I’ve been moving pretty slowly.
Poor Kory, he has to just lie around on his back, all bundled up as he apparently has poor circulation compounded with no meat on his bones or fat to insulate him as he says the house has been too cold with all the windows wide open. He’s finding all kinds of things to be crabby about. The worst thing is that projects are calling his name and he can’t respond. He feels it’s his duty in life to fix everything that’s broken. Fixing them gives him a reason to live. He’s managed to fix a few of them already from the recliner chair but now I’ve suggested he needs to get a bigger project going, set the timer for one hour and get up and work on it in five minute increments every hour throughout the day. He needs to move every hour to keep from getting blood clots, so if he just focuses on little easy things, at least it will give him a sense of accomplishment while he’s healing. He liked my idea but realizes many things require lifting or bending and he’s not able to do either of those things just yet. He’ll find a balance somewhere, I’m sure.
Kaleb came home early today with his friend Tim, as another friend, Riley, wanted to see him before she left on vacation tomorrow. So the three of them hung out at our house today, keeping Kaleb well occupied and out from under my feet while I unpacked all our luggage and all the boxes I’d shipped home. Now I have to deal with the piles I’ve made as a result, but things are starting to get back to normal. (See photo of Kaleb with his pals from yesterday. Today I took no photos. I couldn’t find the camera in all the mess. Uff.)
I made a run into town and needed to stop every so often to absorb all the changes that have taken place since we’ve been gone. New houses popped up, old houses torn down, roads changes, stores closed – so much isn’t the same. But enough was that I didn’t get lost, and I completely enjoyed driving our very nice Honda Odyssey with automatic transmission, automatic steering, air conditioning and a backup camera – all things I sure would have enjoyed in our van in Norway. And I nearly cried when I pulled into a parking spot at Costco because they are so HUGE. It was just so easy. I used to have to jockey back and forth and back and forth to even get into one spot in Norway with our big Chrysler van, so indeed, everything is bigger in America. Hallelujah.
Both Kory and I have been touched by how many calls, messages and visits we’ve gotten from people welcoming us back home. I guess we can’t be missed if we don’t go away, but we sure weren’t expecting it to be like this. It’s nice. Very nice. Timothy’s mom, Cindy, stayed a while this morning and helped me with a few things while I cleaned out the refrigerator. It was nice to be distracted from the task. And all the prayers that got us home were so appreciated. Kory cut way back on the amount of pain medication he took today and will try just taking aspirin tomorrow to see how it goes. I do believe he’s healing quicker than expected as he’s sure come a long way in three weeks.
We haven’t spoken a word of Norwegian to each other since we’ve been back. I think many thoughts in Norwegian now and at the grocery store I kept saying, “Unnskyld” (excuse me) as I passed someone. I’m also not totally back up to my American English. The way I spoke English in Norway was very guarded with simple words, no slang, and easy concepts so I knew I’d be understood. I haven’t fully relaxed yet in just letting the words fly out of my mouth, but I’m sure that won’t take long to get back.
(A special thanks to everyone who has been reading the blog to keep up on what’s going on with us. I’m so thankful I won’t have to find all the words to describe to everyone what happened while we were gone. It was truly an incredible year and we are so thankful we had the opportunity to go. The blog helped me feel more connected.)
Poor Kory, he has to just lie around on his back, all bundled up as he apparently has poor circulation compounded with no meat on his bones or fat to insulate him as he says the house has been too cold with all the windows wide open. He’s finding all kinds of things to be crabby about. The worst thing is that projects are calling his name and he can’t respond. He feels it’s his duty in life to fix everything that’s broken. Fixing them gives him a reason to live. He’s managed to fix a few of them already from the recliner chair but now I’ve suggested he needs to get a bigger project going, set the timer for one hour and get up and work on it in five minute increments every hour throughout the day. He needs to move every hour to keep from getting blood clots, so if he just focuses on little easy things, at least it will give him a sense of accomplishment while he’s healing. He liked my idea but realizes many things require lifting or bending and he’s not able to do either of those things just yet. He’ll find a balance somewhere, I’m sure.
Kaleb came home early today with his friend Tim, as another friend, Riley, wanted to see him before she left on vacation tomorrow. So the three of them hung out at our house today, keeping Kaleb well occupied and out from under my feet while I unpacked all our luggage and all the boxes I’d shipped home. Now I have to deal with the piles I’ve made as a result, but things are starting to get back to normal. (See photo of Kaleb with his pals from yesterday. Today I took no photos. I couldn’t find the camera in all the mess. Uff.)
I made a run into town and needed to stop every so often to absorb all the changes that have taken place since we’ve been gone. New houses popped up, old houses torn down, roads changes, stores closed – so much isn’t the same. But enough was that I didn’t get lost, and I completely enjoyed driving our very nice Honda Odyssey with automatic transmission, automatic steering, air conditioning and a backup camera – all things I sure would have enjoyed in our van in Norway. And I nearly cried when I pulled into a parking spot at Costco because they are so HUGE. It was just so easy. I used to have to jockey back and forth and back and forth to even get into one spot in Norway with our big Chrysler van, so indeed, everything is bigger in America. Hallelujah.
Both Kory and I have been touched by how many calls, messages and visits we’ve gotten from people welcoming us back home. I guess we can’t be missed if we don’t go away, but we sure weren’t expecting it to be like this. It’s nice. Very nice. Timothy’s mom, Cindy, stayed a while this morning and helped me with a few things while I cleaned out the refrigerator. It was nice to be distracted from the task. And all the prayers that got us home were so appreciated. Kory cut way back on the amount of pain medication he took today and will try just taking aspirin tomorrow to see how it goes. I do believe he’s healing quicker than expected as he’s sure come a long way in three weeks.
We haven’t spoken a word of Norwegian to each other since we’ve been back. I think many thoughts in Norwegian now and at the grocery store I kept saying, “Unnskyld” (excuse me) as I passed someone. I’m also not totally back up to my American English. The way I spoke English in Norway was very guarded with simple words, no slang, and easy concepts so I knew I’d be understood. I haven’t fully relaxed yet in just letting the words fly out of my mouth, but I’m sure that won’t take long to get back.
(A special thanks to everyone who has been reading the blog to keep up on what’s going on with us. I’m so thankful I won’t have to find all the words to describe to everyone what happened while we were gone. It was truly an incredible year and we are so thankful we had the opportunity to go. The blog helped me feel more connected.)
Everyone should dare to dream such dreams and then sit back and wait for God’s timing to make them come true! Hallelujah!!!
2 comments:
Welcome back and praise God for you. I have so enjoyed reading your blog, Mickey. I have always loved your writing and you have enabled me to go on this journey to Norway, too. Bless you all. Peggy
Norway is a more poor country without you in it! America is enriched!
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