On November 17th I left Rwanda for the first time since arriving in June 2017 and headed home to surprise my family for Thanksgiving and some pre-Christmas festivities. With a little help from my elves my parents and siblings had no idea I was coming and seeing the reactions when I greeted them was the best present I could've asked for. It really was an amazing way to kick off the holiday season.
I got to see my best friend from college Kristin and show her around Seattle and my old stomping grounds. And of course she got to share the most cherished moment of me having my first Starbucks coffee in a year and a half... Yes it is a big deal.
I had a classic Sjolund Thanksgiving which never fail to disappoint. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Not just because of all the food but because it's a tradition that even as we've changed a lot over the years our classic celebration hasn't really. Moving far away from my friends and family for 2 years always brings in a small fear that everyone and everything will continue to change and move forward without you which is natural because nothing is stagnant but to have at least one thing that can feel the same was the perfect thing to come back to. And on top of it all Will survived his first football game (forcing me to play my first as well) which was awesome to share with him.
Along with Thanksgiving festivities (and a lot of day after Thanksgiving sandwiches) I also go to be a part of some of the pre-Christmas festivities like decorating the house some Christmas shopping and picking out a tree.
It was everything I could've asked for in those 3 weeks and it made me realize that when the time comes I'll be ready to come back but for now I have 8 more months to keep doing what I'm doing here in Rwanda and despite the stressful travel back I'm so happy to be back in my village. Everyone is so happy to see me and happy I'm back which just makes me even happier and motivated to be here.
Thanks Grandma, Kristin, and Will for making this trip home possible! And thank you everyone for all the support and love whether you're near or far I dont know what I'd do without you all. I wish you all the merriest Christmas and an amazing New Year. <3
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