So happy to ride on smooth roads at home again— we marveled at all we take for granted— trees, sidewalks, pothole-free roads…
Until we were jerked out of our bliss when our 8-yr old vomitted in the cab due to car sickness and the taxi driver demanded $300 instantly to compensate him for carpet cleaning and hours lost from work. 😣
What a welcome! 😣
And a reminder we’re back in SINGAPORE!
Feeling slightly overwhelmed returning home after two harrowing weeks caring for Cliff untangling his diagnosis and complications… only to find both girls spiking high fevers with Influenza A, late nights soothing their high fevers and hacking coughs, managing some dozen medications… and juggling appointments between Cliff’s transplant and infectious disease specialists…
… felt like walking from one fire into the next… until…
… a friend reached out today and drove me out for a walk in nature, just to help me find respite. So grateful, so thankful. A balm to the soul.
Re-entry is what cross-cultural or humanitarian workers go through when returning to their home country after a period serving overseas. It sounds like it ought to be simple and celebratory, but it’s often fraught with adjustment stresses and challenges—
The world expects heroic stories and inspiration, while you carry stories too tender to share, trauma too fresh to explain.
People mean well, but the questions can feel intrusive, the pace overwhelming.
I’m learning, that while most people aren’t able to understand the stresses of Re-entry this season, perhaps it’s all right to reach out to safe people and ask for
✨ Quiet companionship
✨ Safe, non-judgmental conversations
✨ And be willing to accept what’s helpful and say no to what’s not.
Thank you for your prayers – after what I think I can now call has been quite a traumatic transition, my body still hasn’t understood it’s safe to sleep now.
So I’m praying that in time, it will.
