Racing the Clock

This looks to be the final post from our California home.  We have our individual bags packed, a few boxes with formula and diapers already in transit, and are just sitting patiently waiting for the movers to show up to begin their packing.  (And what has become ‘part of the culture’ – the movers are late and I’m sure that there was ‘traffic;’ a rant that I’ll complete at a later date.)  For now, we have the little guy down for a nap and are just surfing the net before everything gets disconnected.

A myriad of emotions are running through each of us right now but, by and large, the excitement of being back in Chicago, a city we’ve come to love through the separation, is running wild through our bodies.  Reily is oblivious and Belle is suspect – somethings must just come with age!

We’d like to take a quick second and thank all the wonderful people that we met out here – and even those that weren’t so wonderful!  We enjoyed all the time that we had and would love to take a few of you with us but our guess is that you wouldn’t be able to survive the first time you felt the wind circle back off the lake – its nothing like a gentle ocean breeze!  And as expected, over the past few days, moments…moments…brief moments of doubt crept into our heads; wondering if this was the right decision.  And that seems to last only as long a few breaths when we both long for our urban home.

We’ll be taking back a number of ‘lessons learned’ and allowing this experience to really enrich our lives.  Many of which are geared towards simplifying our lives – and maybe it has more to do with the speed at which Reily seems to grow up.  Regardless of the origin, we are looking to drastically simplify our day-to-day life and embrace each moment for what it has to offer.

And the clock continues to tick….33 hours 26 minutes 19 seconds to wheels up…but its LA and nothing seems to leave on time!  But we’ll make it there eventually – with a pen in hand to begin writing the next chapter of our life.  33 hours 25 minutes…

-The California Stummer Family signing off…