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| View of Orote Peninsula from overlook |
As I mentioned a couple posts back, we had a visit from family. All the cleaning paid off in a delightful visit over two weeks with my
brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and their two girls. They came to
escape New England’s arctic weather, as well as to catch up on cousin bonding
time. Both goals were achieved. Although
I had a list of potential excursions planned, we spent most of the time at the
beach, soaking up sunshine in between snorkels and dives, or sitting around the table with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, depending on the hour, soaking up good conversation while the kids played happily.
The cousins’ visit reminded us of how blessed we are to have family with whom we love spending time. They were easy guests – they cook and clean – and the kids get along well together. We might have heard some whining, but no angry voices. Cousins are one of God's best inventions. (Remembering
this Anthony Esolen essay from Touchstone.)
Instead of going to all of our weekly events and practices, we took time off to make delicious meals and to sit around on the front porch while the kids ripsticked into the sunset. We did share some of our regularly scheduled activities, but scaled back to savour our time with the cousins. We also fit in outings to the waterpark, the jungle river “cruise,”
and Cocos Island “resort.” Don’t let the
names of these places fill your mind with glamorous destinations: the waterpark is a few slides
at a hotel, the cruise is on an old flatbottomed boat, and the resort is a few
concrete buildings on a small island just off the coast of Guam where you can
rent jet-skis and ride banana boats, although the kids mostly wanted to play in
the pool.
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| Ferry to Cocos Island |
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| Kawai! Posing with tourists. |
And their trip also gave us a chance to do a few things we hadn’t
done: paddleboard to Turtle Rock, do a boat dive to the Seabee junkyard, eat at
a couple of recommended restaurants.
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| Playing in the ditch |
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We were glad of overcast skies this day because our fairskinned
relatives of the north were beginning to blister. |
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Pictoglyphs at Gadao's cave. They seemed fresh to me, but apparently
are Spanish era - a few hundred years. |
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| The famous watering hole, Jeff's Pirates Cove |
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| Examining Noah's ark plants growing into limestone at a recreated village |
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| Learning to make fire with ironwood and coconut fiber |
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| The boonie pup did not come home with us. |
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| Seaside dining |
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| Attended a couple rugby games. That's my kid in yellow getting hoisted to catch. |
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| And watched more than one soccer game. |
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| Celebrated another Eagle ceremony |
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| Two of them |
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| As cub scouts |
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| And had a birthday party for a Pokemon fan. Good thing they are so easy to draw. |
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| Big John with Kika at Ft. Soledad |
Visiting these places with a tourist’s eyes again opened my
heart to melancholy as our own departure date nears. Since our company left, I’ve been wandering around the house in a daze, intending to attack projects that have been neglected, but instead I browse through the internet catching up on news or flip through the stack of mail I’ve ignored, numbly adding to my to-do list. (To procrastinate more, I’m sharing some photos of their visit.) On the list of things to
do three months out is to set our pack-out date, to let housing know we’re
leaving, to fill out the forms for early release from school (no big deal since
DOD schools may have days cut because of sequestration). Still haven’t decided
about school in California. Still haven’t decided whether to live on base or
out in town.
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| Waterpark fun |
Also on my to-do list: a number of hikes, a couple more
dives, more paddle boarding, more sunsets, more evening walks, more days on the
beach.
Also: take leave of our neighbors, our jobs, the chapel
community, the scout troop, home schooling friends.
Moving on again.
Oh no, now I’m getting sad. I’m supposed to be reflecting on our
great weeks with family. They kept reminding us how wonderful this place
is. The kids, especially the older boys, are so happy here with their friends and activities. The ocean is so beautiful. Sunsets are breathtaking. Life is so easy here.
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| View of Inarajan hills |
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| Sunset over the rugby field. |
Meanwhile, the girls have come up with an itunes playlist
they call “Home songs.” It started with the
Olympic gymnastics theme song by Phillip Phillips, but they added “The House
that Built Me” by Miranda Lambert and “Temporary Home” by Carrie
Underwood. (Also "This Land is Your Land”
and a reggae version of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and Tim Hawkins’ “Homeschool
Family.”) I have to admit these songs make me feel a bit maudlin.
It’s all temporary. We're all just passing through on our way home. It's a beautiful journey.
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| Sunset over the neighbor's house. |
