In Need of a Sabbatical

The time has come. Next Tuesday we will be on a plane to California. Sorry to spring these things on you so precipitously. That’s just the way things seem to work out.

Ever since our business failed after the 2008 credit crunch, life has been pretty difficult and stressful. We’ve had some exciting adventures, crazy travels, and happy times (the kind of stuff that typically ends up on the blog), but we’ve also had some very serious challenges. I can say that I’m physically, mentally, and in every other way worn out. My in-laws have graciously offered to let us stay with them while I recover from a persistent health issue and we sort out our finances and decide which direction we’d like to take our life next.

It will be a huge relief to be back in a more familiar world, with the support of family. That’s what we need right now. But there are some things I’ll really miss too. To help me sort through my feelings, I decided to make a list. It’s not really a list of pros and cons, more like a list of “excited for” and “will miss.”

Excited for:
The Public Library!!!
Trader Joe’s
My mother-in-law’s snuggly house
The replacement Kindle that arrives the day before I do
My sister’s wedding
Church in a big ward
The eventual eradication of the ubiquitous beach sand
Good Mexican food

Will miss:
The beautiful Hammamet beach
Jasmine necklaces
Our sweet dog Luca
Roman ruins an hour away in any direction
Tunisia’s historic democratic elections next month
The call to prayer
Our Mormon “twig” in Tunisia
Wonderful Tunisian and expat friends

I’m hoping for a completely uneventful trans-atlantic plane flight. Hey, I can dream! (even if I can’t sleep, because I’m traveling with two rambunctious and jet-lagged children).

And in honor of our journey and the general surreality of everything, here’s a completely random but actually relevant video clip, courtesy of ABBA:

California, here I come.

photo credit

6 thoughts on “In Need of a Sabbatical

  • September 3, 2011 at 12:30 pm
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    We’ve been back in CA exactly one month. What a change. However long you stay state-side, you’ll still be that family who loves to explore, to experience new food and new cultures and new ideas — CA is a great place to do that, too (with Trader Joe’s as a bonus!). Where you are doesn’t prevent you from being who you are, but of course you know that already.

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  • September 2, 2011 at 1:47 pm
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    If you prefer a music option that’s a little less . . . abba,

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  • September 2, 2011 at 12:59 pm
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    Good luck. I hope things go well in CA and that you’ll be ready soon to move on to new things.

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  • September 2, 2011 at 12:18 pm
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    That video was hilarious.

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  • September 2, 2011 at 12:04 pm
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    i found out about this yesterday from Tony via fb. Happy you guys are coming back but also sad bc it was so fun reading about your life and the interesting/cool /adventurous things you guys all did on the other side of the world. I will be watching/reading to see where life takes you all next!

    Reply

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