Two Homes, Two Places!

I have concluded it doesn’t matter where you live. Home is what you make it and who you make it with! We thoroughly enjoyed our time in The States, and are even happier to be back as a family! 

Some things I love about the places we call home:

♥ We Love ♥

♥ SABA ♥

·        We love the amazing weather year round & playing outside from 6am to 7pm ALL. DAY. EVERY. DAY

·        We love the incredible views every time you look out a window or door

·        We love the experiences, hikes, excursions, adventures & travels we have in such a unique & blessed place

·        We love the minimalist life style we have come to embrace, the simple-ness, being down to earth, and even the hard work

·        We love the peace, quiet, & wholesomeness we find here with no distractions, no errands, no “commotion.”

·        We love having such a unique experience of church with just our family, in our home, with such an abundance of the spirit

♥ U.S.A. ♥

·        We love the unlimited water usage, long baths, and hot showers

·        We love that the cost of living is more affordable for our current income

·        We love having bug free homes… specifically free of mosquitos and spiders. Lol.

·        We love that we have a choice in our Child’s education and other freedoms we have taken for granted

·        Oh, and grass. We LOVE the grass. Haha

·        We love the abundance of things to do, and ease of stores close by. Mostly just the convenience of things we are used to.

♥ We love our friends & family in both places we call home! ♥

Okay, here is a REAL LIFE insight into the mind of Valerie for a moment. 

Writing those lists… I seriously was trying to make them an even amount…. And I had 6 things for Saba and only 4 for America! Ah! I was realizing more and more, that what I “love” about America is all material things that are just for “ease of life.” The things that made being lazy easier. That made spending money and “keeping up with the jones” a thing.  But what I love about Saba is the one-ness with nature, with God, with our family and ourselves. What I love about Saba is the hard work for the simple things in life, like dishes to eat on, clothes to wear, and even taking showers. But somehow the hard work is so strangely satisfying. It is rewarding to know “I can do it”.

It has reiterated to me what I’ve always known and wanted… that when we are back in The States, I don’t want to live in a real city. I want rural. I want farm. I want animals. I want hard work and real life. I want nature and a focus on what is really important in life.

Has being here been hard. Absolutely. It has been probably one of the most lonely times of my life. It has been a challenge feeling ostracized from the culture, or maybe not even welcomed into it in the first place. It’s hard feeling like I’m the only one different. To know that I don’t understand the culture, or the “English” language spoken here. To occasionally be the center of the gossip. To painfully buy groceries with prices that reflect the import cost. To have to get over my pride and hitch-hike a ride with me and 3 kids. To conserve water on a level I never understood before, and to lower my exceptions for “nice” and “convenient.”

 BUT… in the eternal scheme of things, those things are NOT so important. ALL of those things pass. And WHAT IS LEFT are those things that ARE important.

Has it been worth it? Absolutely. Has this journey, this adventure, changed me? I sure hope so! …I feel so! It has changed me for the better! 

I’m grateful for the wake-up call to life that Saba brought me.

I only have a few short months left here, and I will miss it greatly when the time comes to part our ways. When I leave, God be with you Saba until we meet again. 

(Just a Bonus picture for you to enjoy!)