"Good bye" and "Hello"

"You never know what you got 'till it's gone."

From song lyrics, to common speech, the reality of this phrase has plagued all of us.  It is an unwelcome gift to the settled and a reminder that one must enjoy the little nuances of life or be faced with the devastating reality of "good bye."

Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what we'll miss when we move to Central Asia.  But there are a few things that we'll definitely dream about with longing.  We have been trying to prepare ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, etc. for the difficulty of "good bye."  It's true though that "good bye" leads to "hello" and "hello" to the new "got!"

Some things we'll miss:

1)

There is more in that burrito than rice
and meat.  There is life-instilling
goodness and love. Currently we
enjoy it whenever we can!
We look forward to this being our
last meal in the US as we leave out of
Dulles Airport.

2) Family and friends-  This should be #1 but it's hard not to consider that beautiful burrito as one akin to our hearts.  Seriously though; we'll miss our beloved grandparents, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, nephews, and nieces.  And we'll miss our friends too.  You are all in our hearts.  We love you all so much!

3)

Joe has become a great friend over the years.
It's one of our favorite stores.
Where some grocers just want to take your money, Trader Joe's
wants to say "HI".... and then take your money. 

4) Consistent electricity

We are actually looking forward to figuring out what
it means to live with rationed electricity during cold winters.
But I'm sure there will be those moments when we reach for
the light switch and feel helpless in our darkness.

5) Running and racing--This has always been a consistent, if not daily, activity for the two of us.  We practically met each other while running.  It was one of our first common bonds.  We're not sure what running will look like overseas, but it's safe to say that we are prepared to give it up.

We've been blessed to be able to run numerous
marathons the past five years.

And 5Ks

6) English- The language our hearts are best expressed in will be known by few.

Some things we are excited about:

1) Living in mountains.

These are mts near Joanna's house in CO.
We see them from her house.
CO is home to 54 14,000 ft mts.
In Central Asia We will be living under mountains
that can reach up to 24,000+ feet!
Hiking anybody?

2) World-renowned hospitality- We can't wait to get to know our neighbors.

3) Gardening- Being in a largely agricultural society allows us the great opportunity of learning how to raise our own food.  From chickens to veggies, we look forward to getting to know our food in a closer way.

4) Language- ассалому алейкум! ("Peace be on you" or "hello")
It's been fun and challenging so far getting a foundation in this new language.  We look forward to learning it more in depth once we arrive in one month.