back in the US of A

today we returned to jacksonville, the first time since leaving for guatemala over 16 months ago. i was reminded how long it had really been by the simple fact that hearing English in the miami airport caught me completely off guard. another simple thing that struck me was all of the men in the airport wearing suits & ties. just saying that seems ridiculous, especially considering the fact that i used to wear one every day. but after almost never seeing one in almost a year and a half, i found myself thinking "i wonder what the special occasion is?"

on the drive from miami i found myself admiring the organization of the traffic. people were using their lanes, stop signs and traffic lights were being used, and people even used blinkers. amazing!

i also noticed that there was no shortage of new bmw's, benz's, lexus', and porsche's on the road. had the economic crisis somehow avoided south florida? i was also blown away by the advertisements, strip clubs, car lots, and restaurants. all familiar sights, but somehow seemed foreign to me again. maybe its shallow of me to think along these lines, but when you're coming from rural guatemala (where many have dirt floors, no water, no electricity), it sure makes the financial meltdown i keep hearing about on cnn seem pretty relative.

on a brighter side, i was reminded today how much my family loves me. my brother picked us up from miami and drove us 6 hours north to jax. we arrived at my folks place, where they were anxiously waiting with my sister vicki and my nephews. right after that, my little sis jacki and her husband matt showed up with my nephew brett, who until today i had never met. the next few hours was spent hanging out, catching up, playing with babies, throwing living room catch with the men, laughing, and just enjoying being together.

i predict that it won't take much of the hustle/bustle american-dream-pace before we are missing life in guatemala. but being with people you love is so wonderful. i am praying that the next 2 weeks will fill us with valuable time spent with friends and family, and an opportunity to thank them for all the love and support they give us...and that we head back refreshed and excited to get back to work.