I'm Ready

All of my adult life I have always had my next plane ticket in hand - until spring of 2020 when I cancelled all scheduled trips. And I was OK. I spent more than a year without a plane ticket in hand and it was OK. Some days it was even better than OK. Months went by without my thinking about where I would go and when. This week that has ended. Now, I am ready. I have plane tickets (for both summer and Christmas). I'm not certain I will be able to use them, but I have them. We shall see.

Things we take for granted (7/31)

7 of 31 - SOLSC 2019

Fastening our abayas we slowly made our way out of the room and down the stairs, feeling various levels of stuffed after our delectable buffet lunch. Arriving at the gate at which we had entered the school we found it locked with no way to open it from the inside.

Two moments flashed through my mind as we wound our way around the edge of the campus compound, in search of a way out.

Moment one:
Several years ago there was a fire in a girls' school in Saudi. I had heard about it on the news and had several conversations about it as we lived in Jeddah at the time. Many females died because they were locked in the school and the males on the outside wouldn't let them out as the females were not completely covered.

Moment two:
En route to this location we had stopped at another girls' school. As I was talking to the guard, trying to determine if the school we were standing in front of was the correct location, or just a school with an identical name in the same city, someone knocked on the gate from within. I looked up to see the guard unlock a padlock - on the outside of the entrance.

We did find the main gate and were able to walk out and around the block in the beautiful Saudi winter sun. The conversation was about how good it felt to stretch our legs, bask in the weather, and enjoy one another's company. These moments stayed with me, but I kept them to myself.

These Days Are ________!

These days are ________!

As a teacher, quickly nearing the end of the school year, the blank could be one of many things. "Heavenly" probably isn't your guess, yet that is exactly what I find myself exclaiming over and over. 

With a list longer than I have time to write about of things that could be weighing on me amidst the normal chaos of the end of the year, add to that our school closing and my family moving 1,000 miles to our new home - you might think I've lost it.

So why the jubilation?

It is Ramadan and in this country that means the working day must be shortened. This is not the first year I have experienced this, yet it is the first time I have ever had a school day starting for students at 10 a.m. Let me tell you, it is lovely.

It is amazing what that 90 minutes does. I am still getting up at the same time as I did before Ramadan began, but it is no longer a dash to see if all tasks can be accomplished prior to our needing to walk out the door. 

Our afternoons aren't too shabby either, often with playdates in the pool outside our villa. And, with the later start time we have been able to relax bedtime for our daughter a bit. The dominoes continue as dinner can be within a 30 minute window. 

All in all, it nearly feels like summer vacation has already started with the more relaxed pace to our family life. So, as I was saying, these days are heavenly!

Who Would Have Thought?

19 of 31 - SOLSC 2018

The Slice of Life March Challenge is hosted by Two Writing Teachers and part of the Slice of Life Story Challenge that takes place each Tuesday throughout the year and everyday in March. It is a supportive (and awesome!) community of those trying their hand at writing and encouraging others in their writing. Join us!

Saudi Arabia is never a place I dreamed of living. Even when we moved to the Middle East, the thought of living in Saudi never crossed my mind. 

We then became friends with people who had lived in Saudi for years and it still wasn't a thought I entertained. 

When we lived in Jordan we would often vacation in Dahab, Egypt. We spend numerous hours looking east, across the Red Sea, at the mountains in Saudi Arabia thinking how close they were and how we would never see them. Our last time in Dahab was Spring Break nine years ago.

Now we go camping in those very mountains on a regular basis. 

The thought that struck me this morning was that not only did I never think we would live here, but we are about to have lived in three totally different cities in this country. I smile and shake my head at the mysterious way life unfolds.

Surprise Endings

16 of 31 - SOLSC 2018

The Slice of Life March Challenge is hosted by Two Writing Teachers and part of the Slice of Life Story Challenge that takes place each Tuesday throughout the year and everyday in March. It is a supportive (and awesome!) community of those trying their hand at writing and encouraging others in their writing. Join us!

Stepping out into the cool darkness the first thing I do is look up and smile. The dome of night is puncture by bright, twinkling stars. Orion hangs over the pool as I start out on my walk. Joshua Molina and Hrishikesh Hirway fill my ears with their banter while discussing The West Wing. The early morning air is perfect. I start with a light sweatshirt, but tie it around my waist as my body temperature rises. As I round the far side of the compound call to prayer sneaks through the pauses in the podcast. Surprisingly, tears come to my eyes. "I will miss this," I think to myself. 

I pause my thinking to acknowledge that this is part of the ending. Realizing what is happening in these moments - giving them their moment - and being thankful for what we have had. Three months from now I will be in Seattle, and not returning to Yanbu. You see, our school is closing. We are trying to do it well. There are lots of expected sticking points. It's the surprise endings that get me.

Cleaning

12 of 31 - SOLSC 2018

The Slice of Life March Challenge is hosted by Two Writing Teachers and part of the Slice of Life Story Challenge that takes place each Tuesday throughout the year and everyday in March. It is a supportive (and awesome!) community of those trying their hand at writing and encouraging others in their writing. Join us!

"And make sure your room gets cleaned up - it's Monday."

"Why does your mom need your room cleaned up on a Monday?" I ask.

"Tuesday is when we have someone come to clean the house," my friend replies.

I think I kept my jaw closed, but inside I was a whirl of questions. Someone else cleans your house? You have to clean up your room to have your house cleaned? Isn't that redundant? Someone else cleans your house?!

That conversation, in high school, opened my eyes to a world that I had no idea existed. When I was in college I actually took a job cleaning someone's house twice a month to make some money toward a financial goal I had set.

Also in college I had a friend who cleaned someone's house. What struck me about those conversations was the fact that they were required to vacuum so ALL of the vacuum lines ran parallel. What?! I can understand in large, open parts of a room, but how do you even do that with furniture everywhere? And, there couldn't be any footprints when they were finished.

When we moved overseas hiring someone as a 'helper' was part of the culture, the norm for expats. We balked at the idea. We were scraping pennies together at that point in our lives; luxuries included paying for haircuts and going to the movies. We didn't do either. 

After a couple of paychecks we realized that we could incorporate a helper into our budget and hired someone to come in once a week for four hours. She mopped all of the dust off our marble floors, cleaned the bathrooms, and made us a meal. We thought we were in heaven.

The following year we realized we could afford to have her come twice a week. The next year we added yet another day. The main thing was the dust. Living in Amman, where no one has air conditioning, you open your windows to cool off the house. Every evening as the sun goes down, about 7 p.m., a lovely breeze would start. It was fantastic for bringing down the temperature, but horrible when it came to dust. (Even with the windows closed, our windows were single pane, and only mostly kept some of the dust out.) You could have dusted and mopped twice a day and still have had a dusty home. Nevertheless, we loved our time in Jordan and appreciated having Anual working for us.

Our fantastic experience with a helper hasn't meant that we have always had help overseas. At times, due to circumstances within a country, part-time household help isn't available. Thankfully our first transition back to doing it ourselves was with in a home with wall-to-wall carpeting. Upon the next move we had both taken pay cuts to live somewhere amazing. Our second year there we decided to pay for piano lessons for our daughter and clean the house ourselves.

We are back to having a helper once a week. And I am now saying to my daughter, "Make sure your room gets cleaned up - it's Monday."

Reflections on Daylight Savings Time

11 of 31 - SOLSC 2018

The Slice of Life March Challenge is hosted by Two Writing Teachers and part of the Slice of Life Story Challenge that takes place each Tuesday throughout the year and everyday in March. It is a supportive (and awesome!) community of those trying their hand at writing and encouraging others in their writing. Join us!

There are many reasons that one might have varying opinions regarding Daylight Savings Time. 

How far north or south you live impacts your thoughts. The closer to the equator you life the more consistent the length of your days is, therefore the change does not have the same impact it does for those who live closer to the poles. So is it a surprise that Hawaii, the state closest to the equator, last changed in 1945 - long before they were a state? (Florida is legislating a change to Standard Time, though there are legal challenges.)

If you have ever lived somewhere that doesn't change the clock on two random days per year, your opinion will change. Once you realize that life does go on without the major interruption imposed by humans, you may just find the lack of change refreshing.

What you believe to be the origins and reason for the practice impact one's thoughts. I know that reading this New York Times article challenged what I had believed for multiple decades. Had you been told it had to do with farming? I sure had.

Then there are the years we have lived in places that could have three different dates to change their clocks - all within the span of one weekend - for bordering countries. (Managing public transport was the biggest challenge to navigating that one!)

Currently the greatest change impacting my life is how I play "Time Zone Bingo". I have regular meetings across the globe. As we enter the season of time changes I have to double and triple check when each place does or doesn't change their clocks.

And finally, as I sat down to write this, I realized that I had never noticed that light takes hold over darkness during Lent, when we are preparing for Light to overcome.

Three Out Of Four

Hi Sara,

I got up in the night to phone you (I am in Saudi Arabia) only to be told that the phone number on your signature line is not setup. I was really hoping to speak with a person as I am in a pickle. So, here it goes - and remember, truth is stranger than fiction!

We live in the Middle East - teaching at an American International school. We have had our condo for 8 years. I have never had a late payment. I would love to be paying you right now, but our funds are wired from our bank here to BECU every month and then I send you a check. For some inexplicable reason, our bank here, which we have used for 2.5 years, decided it couldn't wire any of our funds because they were suspicious as to why we were wiring money to CUBA. Yes, you read that correctly. On top of it, they didn't tell us this was happening. I went to pay our bills and the funds hadn't arrived. For TWO WEEKS we have been trying to straighten this out. So now last month's paycheck and this month's paycheck are lost in some limbo land simply because three letters of BECU happen to also be within the name of a country that we have nothing to do with.

What can be done? I have $200 in my daughter's savings account. I have had to borrow money for our mortgage. Thankfully other payments go onto our credit card, which we usually pay off. This month they will be thrilled to receive the $36 so they finally get some interest out of us. What can we do with you? Our employer (who chose the bank for all of its employees) is working to rectify the situation. 

Help!

***

Hi Kristi,

My apologies.  My old signature has the incorrect number, the correct one will be below in my updated block.

I’m so sorry to hear you’re having such a time with banks, they can be problematic.  Your dues payment history is spotless.  I will happily hold off on late fees until the end of January.  Do you think that’s enough time for your employer to get the situation in hand?

***

So, three out of four letters can get you in a pickle AND there are kind and helpful people out there.

Getting The Ding Fixed

A ding showed up on our windshield. My husband, Jonathan, said it happened while he was driving the 300+ km highway between where we live and Jeddah; a truck threw a rock. It is surprising it hasn't happened to us before as we have plied the highways of the Middle East for a dozen years.

There were a few days between when we got home from Spring Break and Jonathan was to leave for a week. Ideally we would get the ding fixed and wouldn't have to replace the entire windshield. As long as the ding doesn't spread it won't won't impair anyone's line of vision (except the GoPro when we are off roading - sigh). The bits of missing glass are right in the middle, low on the windshield.

We have a colleague who has lived here for a long time and seems to know all things cars. Jonathan inquired as to where one would go to have a ding filled. With GPS coordinates in hand, he headed out.

There are often just windows of time (pun intended) in which to get things done here. Everything closes five times a day for prayer. Thankfully there is an app for that so you can plan your outings. He took all of this into consideration, including what time the taxi was taking him to the airport, and drove across town. He timed it to arrive just before prayer would be finishing. Something about "the best laid plans" and, as is not infrequent, the business chose to not open right away. Jonathan had succeeded in locating the shop, but couldn't talk to anyone, let alone get the work done.

Since I don't get to drive here I asked a friend of ours to take me on the field trip while Jonathan was gone. He and Jonathan chatted about where the shop was and the GPS coordinates were passed along. One evening our daughter went for a playdate and I headed out on the field trip. 

We drove to the shop, explained what we needed (being sure to include gestures and pointing at the ding to aid with any needed translation). As soon as the ding was pointed out the several guys who had gathered around all called for the same man. Emerging from a work area he walked right up to our vehicle, pulled out his tool, and placed a suction cup over the ding.

The friend and I were feeling pretty proud of ourselves for succeeding with so little effort. I am certain we were visibly puffing up with pride. The worker then rotated his wrist and the tool began to draw a circle on the windshield. As the circumferences continued, realization hit, he was CUTTING a circle in the glass around the ding.



As he finished he tapped on the glass, both from the inside and outside, and beaming with a job done quickly and well, sent us on our way.

We drove off in utter shock.

Eventually these thoughts started cycling...
Yup, the ding isn't going to spread across the entire windshield.
Wow.
I'm pretty sure this isn't what my husband had in mind.
I've never seen anything like it!
How about I don't rush to tell Jonathan about this.
Perhaps we will buy a new windshield.
Wow.

Leaving Well

As we prepare to leave Beirut I am working to have us leave well. By leaving well I don't simply mean using up what is in the cupboard and freezer, sorting through boxes and closets, and getting our school checkouts complete. I mean taking time to spend time with the people that have made living here home and doing the things we either have always wanted to or the things we have done, but need to do 'one more time'.

It means making sure there at least a bit on intentional time carved out for each of us with those that have mattered the most. For the little one that means playdates or a last chance with a babysitter. For J there is a poker party planned. I have some individual or small group gatherings happening. For our family we have time with other families. Some of these times have happened and some are yet to come, but I think we have the most important ones on the calendar with some flexibility for a bit of spontaneity.

The cupboards are getting cleaned out, the rest of the menus have been planned (and the shopping list is VERY short!) Stuff is being sorted; things to ship, things to take with us, things to sell, things to donate, and things to put in the dumpster. The end of the school year is happening and all that comes with it. While all of those things are important, taking the time to truly leave well is more important in the long run. We have to acknowledge that our time here was important, that people and memories matter. Those of us that live this life know how small the planet is and there are people we know we will see again, we just can't tell you where or when.

I am not a person big on good-byes. Knowing this it is even more important for me to be sure to carve out the bits of time for people, rather than just skip out of town in the middle of the night. (Though we will do that too!) I am thankful that others are willing to make time with us in the midst of their own crazy lives. I hope those friends that we won't be a regular part of our lives (at least for the near future) know that they have touched us, are valued, and will be remembered.

Moments in my day…

Morning Meeting included two great conversations, sometimes overlapping. We were discussing different cultures (particularly Saudi as they just found out I am headed back there next year) and also the Iditarod as they were expecting to find out the winner today. (We did watch the finish, live, in Nome, Alaska from Beirut, Lebanon - technology is so cool!)

At one point during the discussion a students said to me, "I have a random question that I don't think anyone .will know the answer, but you'll know the answer. Should a Transformer have car insurance or life insurance?" Without missing a beat I replied, "It depends. When they are in vehicle form they need car insurance and in robot form they need life insurance." He thought that was a pretty accurate examination of the situation.

(Ah, class clowns!)

***

After school my daughter and I were walking to the university playground for her weekly frolic. She was telling me the important things about her day as we walked, holding hands. One of the things she shared with me was that she thought about sucking her thumb, but stopped.

"Great!" I replied, "Especially since you don't suck your thumb any more." PAUSE.
"My teacher told me the same thing during story time today."
"You must have been really tired." I said.
"Mommy, you should only put the stuff on my thumb in the mornings because I don't need to suck then."

As you can imagine, there were tears at bed time when the 'yucky stuff' came out after not being needed for months and months.

My Aunt Leanne

I have said it before, and I am sure I will say it again, the hardest thing for me about living overseas is missing memorial services. Today many are gathering to celebrate the life of Leanne. To me she is Aunt Leanne and I will miss her, though I am thankful that she gets to hang out with Jesus and be whole.

I have loads of memories of Aunt Leanne over the course of my life, but I want to share three.

One isn't about a specific moment, but about how she engaged with people. With Leanne you didn't just say 'hi' and carry on, rather you sat and entered into life together. There were always stories and questions and she would use your name as she talked to you.

Another is about a Christmas runner she made for me and gave to me during a time when life wasn't easy for me. It comes out each year, covering the coffee table (under a pile of picture books, which were also a love of hers), and reminds me of the special woman she is - now was. (Ah, this good bye stuff can be hard!)

The final one I want to share is the small, heart-shaped box pictured here. I was married on a ferry with a view of 'my mountain', (most people call it Mt. Rainier.) Shortly after our wedding she gave me this box. It is the perfect size to hold my handbell pendant when it isn't on a chain around my neck.

The box sits on my dressing table and I think of Aunt Leanne every time I caught a glimpse of it. For the past 9 1/2 years that has reminded me to pray for her and her battle with breast cancer. Now I smile and think of the joy she is experiencing AND I pray for those that miss her everyday.