What do I miss about the US?

What do I miss most about  life in the US? People ask that a lot. Really, when we are down in Guatemala, we don't really miss anything, other than people we love here! But when are here, there are things we notice, with pleasure.

• Dogs as pets (we don't have that there - we miss them!)
• Smooth wide roads
• Favorite restaurants: Chipotle, Olive Garden
• Ethnic food - Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Arabic, Ethiopian, Mexican, Italian ... So far!
• Drinking water from the tap
• Radio, like NPR
• Butt/back-warmers in cars! Even with a/c on in the car, it felt good on my back!

But we've been frustrated by how long it takes to do things! We've had a lot of doctor appointments and shopping to do and errands to run. It seems everything just drags and takes so much energy. Back and forth across town. We are exhausted! We've been shopping for clothes, shoes, hardware, go-bag stuff, drugstore stuff, yarn, kitchen supplies. And on and on. Things that are hard to get down there. Now it's mostly done.

Things we have not missed about the US!

• Crowds
• Malls
• Stress! Stress! Stress! I am getting back spasms and Ménière's symptoms (vertigo), I'm sure from stress.
• Constant marketing. We were eating in a mall, and there tv screens everywhere with a constant stream of ... movie stars, celebrity gossip, fashion tips...  showing us how we needed to look, to act, to travel. 
• Gardening. Don't get me wrong, I like the part where I put the pretty flowers in the garden, and I really like the part where we sit around with a cold beverage and watch it grow. But we drive by home centers and remember the hundreds of dollars and hours of backbreaking work and garden tractors and reseeding and endless work that comes with home ownership. Love it that we no longer worry about that! Renting rocks!

I know there are more things for each of these lists, but I'll leave if for now.

But along the way, we have had some wonderful visits. Here are some pictures of fun we've had over the last weeks. There are more, many more, but these are a sampling:

Croswhites

Jennifer Kim and I

Victor and Jennifer Kim

With Paulette Mosby. She is learning Karin
language to help some Burmese learn the Bible! 

Kathy and Earl Cartwright

Our kids and grandkids. They made a meal for us! And we've
had several nice visits with them. 

Manny Solis

Cheryl Blake

with Christine Zinn

Marci McKee with others

My nephew Brian and his beautiful family,
Cinnamon his wife, and smart and funny kids
Anika (future volcanologist?) and Leo

Deborah and David Norby

Our kids and granddaughters - from left, Tiffany,
Kelly, L'oreal, Kelse

Things have calmed down since I wrote the part about being stressed, above. Right now I'm in Iowa visiting my sister, so I'm calming down. I'll share some of those pictures in the next blog post.

We have a few more days, until June 17, and then we're going home.  We're happy to be here, but will be delighted to be back home.