I lied. I have a couple more blog posts that are being edited.  This is not the end. However, it kind of is. We are one plane ride away from this journey coming to an end.

I need to pack (what else is new) and get these excited kids to bed here on Cape Cod, so I’ll be short.

Wes left on Sunday. He flew to Minneapolis, picked up our new car, and drove home to Denver. 25 hours of traveling and no sleep. But he’s home. He is busy getting the car registered and beginning to take things out of storage. Mattresses and kitchen boxes are my main priority. We are having floors refinished, so not doing a big move-in right away.

The kids and I leave from Boston tomorrow afternoon. One final pack. Then weeks and weeks of unpacking. I can’t remember exactly what I donated and tossed, but I’m sure I also need to do some shopping.

I am not ready to think about school and work. Focused on reconnecting and catching up with friends and setting up the house. Big plans! Lots of rearranging! Wes reports that our house and new car are both in good shape. Big relief.

We arrive home 6 months to the day we left. When we left Denver on January 25, Wes was sick and we had both pulled an all nighter. Kids were excited for Disney and a break from school. Elle was sad to leave her friends. Little did I know, that I was also about to get the plague. We had no idea what the next 6 months would be like. We somehow got out of our house and made it to Cali and then Oz. We’ve done so much since then. We’ve seen so much. We’ve experienced so much. We’ve laughed hard and cried plenty. We lost stuff and got some boo boos. We had emotional breakdowns and celebrated accomplishments. I taught my own kids! We learned so much about each other and have strengthened our bond and relationships. We surfed and snorkeled and cuddled koalas. We lived in another country. It went by so fast and I’m so happy to have my blog and Instagram as a souvenir because it already feels a million miles ago.

I’ve been asked if I will continue to blog. It was just for the purpose of documenting our travels. So no more blogging for me. Unless it relates to our sabbatical. I also have a new perspective on social media since I’ve been away. I felt like I had 6 months of oversharing, but I needed my Dad to see our trip, so no regrets. Moving forward, I am going to make some changes with my sharing goals and social media. After sharing this big adventure, it changed my feelings about many things and that’s one of them.

I feel sort of obligated to share more about what we’ve learned and how we’ve changed and what we’ve gained. But I’m not going to blog all that. It’s too heavy and enormous for a blog entry. It’s also not ready for print…we are slowly realizing the effect this trip has had on us. We’ve actually just begun to feel the effects…just scraping the surface and there’s way more to come. I’m sure. And it’s personal. Maybe you’ll notice some things different about us. Or maybe it’ll be subtle and internal. Who knows. But it won’t be a blog post. That I know. I may write about adjusting back to reality…maybe.

I am so grateful you’ve read this blog post or any of the others. I felt connected to those who read it. It’s been fun.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. I need to find my pool passes. Needle in a haystack. I’m excited to set up my house from scratch. And also overwhelmed by the task. It’ll be great. Oh, and I really want to go back to Australia. I miss it so much.

Now…back to packing. Home sweet home tomorrow.