This morning we said another goodbye. You would think after six major moves and eight years living at an international school where most people come and have left again within a few years we would be better at them. Neither my husband or I have lived on even the same continent as our families for over three years and whenever we see them, goodbye comes a few short days later.

Thus is the life of missionary kids and military families. My son will grow up the same way we did and I’m thankful because it will teach him the value of relationships and appreciating the moments in life that we have right now. You can’t waste time and fail to appreciate a person you are only able to see a few days out of the year, if that, and the sorrow of a goodbye when there is no hello in the foreseeable future is one of the things that makes us human.

Enough about goodbyes. Nobody wants to read about goodbyes.

We had such a great time with my dad. A little bit of background: My parents live in Malaysia and my husband’s parents live in Indonesia–they are far, far away. I was extremely blessed to be able to spend the summer with my family while my husband was gone training, and those two months were awesome. Hubby’s parents came back to the US when my sister-in-law got married summer of 2015, and he hasn’t seen them since them. It’s been far too long. Because my dad works in development and does a lot of fundraising and alumni events, he was back in the US for a week and he was able to come see us for five of those days.

Admittedly, I was slightly nervous about how my son would react to seeing him again. They were best buds last summer but my dad left when little man was two months old so I didn’t expect him to remember Grandpa even though they Skype almost every day and play virtually. What if my son started wailing and refused to be held by anyone but mama? Thankfully it’s never happened before but it would have been a terrible first time and my son seems to have a sense about things he shouldn’t do such as trying to lick stickers off the floor at Kohls and pulling the only tool that could cause permanent damage out of the hardware drawer to play with.

I shouldn’t have worried.

The moment we walked into the restaurant my son launched himself out of my arms towards my dad and if I wasn’t used to his squirmy ways he would have been pudding on the floor. Yes, he definitely remembered Grandpa.

Friday evening Dad hosted a reunion for our school in Malaysia in Raleigh. We all worked at/attended the school recently or many years ago and we all reunited in North Carolina–very far away from where we knew each other. Two of my classmates were there with their girlfriends, two of my little brothers classmates attended, my old English teacher and the Spiritual life director, one of my friend’s parents, the old school director and his wife–we really had quite the party.

Even though I hadn’t seen many of these people in years, because we have so many experiences in common it was completely natural to reconnect.

Our old school is wonderful like that.

After dinner my family went out with my two classmates and their girlfriends for coffee. I like them; I approve. The international community is so special because my husband and I knew both Sam and Josh from when we were in the same class in high school and last summer when my son was two weeks old, I was able to see Sam once more in Malaysia. When my son was seven months old, my husband and I took a trip up to Virginia and visited Josh and Sam at their university. They came to visit us when he was nine months old in Jacksonville, NC. Now my baby is eleven months old and we saw them again in Raleigh. We have seen each other in Malaysia, Virginia, and North Carolina multiple times over seven years and we’re still great friends.

International friendships are pretty sweet.

The next morning, my husband spent four hours cooking us the most amazing crepe breakfast I’ve ever had (post coming soon!) and it’s pretty safe to say my dad was impressed. My dad is an amazing baker and when I was in high school I used to say I wouldn’t marry a guy unless he could bake as well as my father–and then I stuck to it.

Kohls doesn’t exist in Malaysia so we spent the afternoon clothing shopping for my family back home and my husband cooked another amazing grilled chicken meal for dinner. I’m so lucky.

Sunday morning meant bagels and church, and in the afternoon we took my dad to the beautiful city of Wilmington. Going to Wilmington is like a breath of fresh air–there is culture, there is beauty, there are the coolest little shops and the prettiest water front and the most amazing ice cream you’ll ever eat. We live next to the largest Marine Corps base on the East coast, which means we have bars and barber shops and chain restaurants and “adult entertainment”. It’s not all bad, but since the city was built up around a base of rowdy, testosterone filled Marines, it isn’t the ideal place to raise a family.

We’re learning to enjoy it, but we really have to look for the blessings in where we live. There are many young married couples and moms, for example, which means lots of people who I can relate to. We’re on the coast, which I love, and the housing is ridiculously cheap. Plus a few miles down the street there is a bakery and coffee shop and their cupcakes are to die for. What else do I need?

On Monday, my husband won Monopoly. Other things happened too, but those definitely pale in comparison to the miracle that occurred when my husband actually won Monopoly! His family played Monopoly regularly when he grew up–they’re probably played over 100 times–and my husband literally won one time. And he was on someone’s team so he couldn’t even take the credit. One time on a week long training mission he played Monopoly with his buddies ten times and he lost every single time.

My husband is, without a doubt, a constant source of entertainment for me.

I suppose even though my husband did win at Monopoly, even more mentionable is the day Dad and I spent in New Bern, which turned out to be a smaller, less maintained version of Wilmington with a super yummy Southern diner. Even though we’ve lived here for eight months and we travel fairly regularly, we go to the big cities rather than the little coastal ones.

Clearly, it’s time to expand our horizons and check out more of the cool historic towns in the area.

Of course, when we saw the fountain, little man wanted to play. I set him down at the edge and I should have known when I placed him in front of water that rolling up his little sleeves wasn’t going to keep him dry. Nothing could have kept him dry, but boy, did he have fun! I love watching my baby play.

Of course, we saved our shopping day for last. We still find it amazing to walk into these huge superstores where you can literally buy anything because in Malaysia, shopping is an ordeal. They rarely have what you want when you want it or you have to go to seventeen stores, but hey, at least shopping in Asia is cheap! Some people think shopping is a chore, but I think it’s super fun.

Our day looked like this:

Wake up at 8am. Skype with Mom and hear about Murphy’s law and how everything is going wrong when Dad is out of town. That’s usually how it goes, right? Leave for breakfast at the bagel shop. Eat french toast bagels with Nutella cream cheese and chocolate chip bagels and bagel egg sandwiches and drink lattes. Little man can’t stop cooing at the Marine behind me in line because he slightly resembles Daddy–poor, confused baby. Drive through base to show Dad where my husband works. Not much to see–just acres and acres of forest and old buildings–but still cool if you’re a civilian. Run into Target, buy 20 bags of Easter candy to take back to Malaysia, and fight the child to try to keep him sitting down in the cart when he would much rather stand and grab at everything in the aisles. Drive to Bank of America, discover Jacksonville GPS is not very smart and no bank exists at said location. Stop at Walmart instead and wonder why on earth one of the two food items Mom requests from the US is figs. Does she mean dates? Dried figs? Dark chocolate? We have no idea. Finish at Walmart and head to Dick’s to buy brother goalie gloves, then to the electronics store to find birthday presents for twin brothers about to be 17. Little man will be 1 soon so head to Hobby Lobby to pick up adorable table and chairs I’ve been eyeing for his room (lots of April birthdays–there must be something good about July) and finally find a Bank of America that actually exists.

Hurry home and go on long walk to the bay on other side of neighborhood. Give the small human a bath and watch as he continually puts his face under the water and comes up spluttering but still so happy–special baby. Husband comes home, we leave for Kohls. Run around like crazy people trying to finish last minute shopping and I buy a pretty dress for my birthday, also in April. Eat burgers and way too many bottomless steak fries at Red Robins. Buy tickets at theater to watch Beauty and the Beast and decide that the prince was better looking when he was a beast. Tell Hubby I expected prince to be far more handsome and felt let down and receive the highest eyebrow raise in all of history. Apologize profusely and assure him I like the rugged look and that is why he is the most delicious man in the world and the prince is bleh. Finish movie and help Dad stuff 10 packs of Peeps plus a million other things into three suitcases. Finish at 11:30pm and say goodnight to Dad. Watch Facebook video of high speed police chase ending in an epic rollover instead of going to sleep. Finally crash and sleep until 4:30am this morning when I get up to say goodbye. Diffuse Frankincense and Joy essential oils non-stop until now to keep me feeling happy feels.

Dad is in Chicago now waiting for his flight to Hong Kong, then Singapore, then, finally, Malaysia. He’ll be home with Mom and my siblings and I’m happy for him–I loved having him here but he misses them and they need him home. I also need for Dad to stop buying me bagels with Nutella cream cheese for breakfast because otherwise how will I maintain my slim physique? Hint: Impossible. But the bagels were so worth it.

Once again I am at home alone, and my baby boy is good company and pretty low maintenance when he’s not crawling away at lightning speeds to climb the hardwood stairs when I’m not paying attention. We had to say goodbye, but there will be another hello.

It might not be in the foreseeable future, but it will come. Until then, little man and his grandparents will play and sing songs over Skype and we’ll check the mail for handwritten letters and reminisce about the days when we lived in the same country. One day we’ll be around family again.

For now, we’re home. I have my perfect little family–my baby boy and my sexy husband. And I’m happy here.