The US of A

site of wedding, near Stanley, Idaho (Sawtooth Mts)


The return to Alaska. It has been very grand to have returned to the US of A.

It's been a week since boarding a plane in Rome and flying back to the US. It's been a rather full week, well, at least up until yesterday.

Following a nearly 24 hour plane commute to Boise, Idaho I had the opportunity to attend my brother's wedding near Stanley, Idaho (reference above picture). That was three days of driving, family, and wedding.

Then following a late return to Alaska I attended my 10 year high school graduation this past Saturday. Now, that's an interesting thing, visiting with people you have hardly seen in 10 years and who you may not have known anyway in high school... Really good, but quite awkward at moments. It's amazing how some people change, and, how some people don't change - at least they are of a legal age to drink now. Certainly it was very, very good to see some people, and sad that others did not show up - quite a good time overall.

Of course Sunday brought church and a church barbecue - both fine events in which to say hello to some people.

And, finally, when all the events were over it was time to begin the process of re-acquainting one's self with friends, going through the mail (crappy junk mail!), consolidating pictures onto the computer, writing long delayed emails, and simply catching up with the past seven months or so. I don't suppose this catching up will ever really be caught up, though.

Perhaps the most onerous thing of returning to the US, and specifically Alaska, is that it all seems so normal on some level. However, the experiences had over the past 7 months were certainly not what one may consider normal. One person's "normal" is another person's "unusual". There is a progression, long since begun, of actually "processing" the events, experiences, and emotions of the past 7 months of life. None of which were "normal" in the American sense of the word, but perfectly make sense within the context of God's plan.

And, so, let the paradigm shift continue and the paradox of the past seven months further bring about the fruit of the pains of childbirth (such would be an attempt at a metaphor, nothing else).