We are about a week and half from our departure date. We are heading back to Tamarindo on September 16th – this time, for the school year. This period of transition is always hard – there is so much to do to prepare, but the timing needs to be right. You can’t pack suitcases weeks in advance, just because it needs to happen. You can’t empty the fridge days in advance, just because it needs to happen. And, this year, we couldn’t send our kids to school on the first day, just because I needed it to happen!

So, school started without our kids. I look out the window in the morning, right across the street, to see all of our community arriving at Meiklejohn at 7:45. My kids are at home – waiting – just waiting. They are waiting for their friends to be home from school. They are waiting for the weekend and they are waiting for our departure. Most kids, especially ours, dread the end of summer, the start of the school grind. But it has been an interesting addition to our transition this year – to reside in “no man’s land.” None of us are settled in this space – just waiting.

The kids are going back to Tide Academy this year. School starts on the 16th – the same day as our arrival, but we couldn’t show up any earlier, because Casa Colorado is currently rented. So, we wait and work.

For the first time, we are renting our house in Colorado, which has motivated us to do the big purge. This purge has been on the list for years. Our family of five has lived in this house since it was built 10 years ago. We clean and we purge from time to time, but this has been the big one. Matt’s on the garage today – the final dumping ground for all the other areas in the house. I’m thankful for him taking on this thankless job. As we purge, we also receive shipments of random items for our time away.

My favorite is this third picture – Abby’s “oversized checked items” – her surfboard and guitar. I wonder if we will get a shot of her carrying these items through the airport – probably not! Looking forward to “landing.”