Here We Are.

We have ended our wonderful travels (for now). 

This is where we are:

This is why we're here:

This is what I'm reading:

This is what the kids are doing:

Rain(!)

Football

Reading

Paper Airplane War in the Basement

This is where we were a year ago:

Athens

I mostly feel like I am sleepwalking around the house and through the day, with pieces of me in three different time zones and with my thinking suspended from all except whatever is the next thing. We are settling in--meaning, most of our clothes are unpacked and we have started school (we are homeschooling this year). Desks are arranged, food is cooked. The kids have been champs--true roadtrip ninjas.

The Final Hotel: Richmond, VA

Ever since deciding to accept Princeton's offer we have said that the kids would be fine--they are used to picking up and replanting and then moving again, after all of their practice during our adventures last fall. I think that Jesse and I are pretty good at it, too. But how to settle in enough somewhere we'll be for all four seasons instead of just a month? How to feel at home instead of anticipating the bounce? I am actually going to have to learn how to drive through this crazy East-coast traffic to find food...haircuts...Target. I realized this afternoon that I would much rather stay cozied up in this lovely home and yard and have everything sent to me directly by Amazon. Without going out. Ever.

Pretty sure that doesn't fall under the "resident alien" category that I spent last fall promoting.

So, one of the puzzles for this year will be figuring out where sabbatical and resident alien intersect--how much to pull back and where to reach out. For now, we are basking in the humidity (overheard: "Sweetheart, is there a reason you don't want to run the air conditioning? Like, some kind of philosophical objection?"), meeting neighbors, looking for babysitting...and ordering from Amazon.