Goodbye. . .

Goodbyes are hard. For the last week I've been saying goodbye to both the Americans and Brazilians. It's all very surreal to me. Today is Emma's last day of school. It's our last day here. We leave tomorrow morning. I went for a run this morning and soaked in the sights and sounds of Horizontina one last time. I'm going to miss it here. It's become very comfortable in so many ways. Sure, there are aspects of life I'm not going to miss (cockroaches, bats, lizards, etc.), but I have a feeling these next six months will hold a few tears. I'm ready to go. I really am. I'm a little nervous about what the repatriation is going to look/feel like. I realized yesterday that Emma's never been to a movie theater. She's never eaten at McDonald's (not that I really care about that, but she just doesn't even know what it is). We have no idea what's popular on TV. We are so out of the loop on so many things. I wonder if people will understand all the emotions we're going through. I wonder if anyone will "get" me. I wonder if people will think I'm strange when I just stand and stare in awe at the cereal isle in the grocery store. Will anyone understand why I'm crying because I miss Brazil? Will anyone understand that as much as I really wanted to return, my heart was sad to leave? How can a heart be pulled so many ways?? As I ran this morning, I remembered something that gave me comfort. As all of life is about to change for us, one thing remains the same. God is present with me, with our family. He is the same. He never changes and I'm going to trust that what He wills and what He has planned are good. I'm going to look forward to that. Tchau Brasil. A piece of my heart will always be here.