40. Home Sweet Home USA

Again, written months ago, again, an important part to my story <3

We make it home to the U.S.! After the Madrid robbery, Portugal passports/visa scramble and an extra 3 weeks in Europe, arriving into Boston felt amazing. The plan was to stop in NH before going to FL for me to get my AFF instructor rating and Ivan for the season to get his AFF examiner rating.

Growing up in NH, I always wanted to move to SD. Now, I have such an appreciation for my true home. It's such a nature sanctuary- a house that sits above 2 fields with a view of mountains and 20 acres of land. It was the time where all the trees turn different colors and everything smells like fall. I'm grateful for this as a time to reset and get physically & mentally ready for my dream of the AFF instructor rating.

Here are my favorite memories from being home- in between the photos:

Seeing my little sister, Carly! It was such a special time to be together at home- right before she followed her dream of leaving for Costa Rica to work at a yoga retreat center and then help sea turtles. I love the comfort it brought us both to be together in between our travels. She brought me to her gym where we loved doing leg weights together, we had relaxing time at Williard Pond and as always made delicious meals together. Seeing her get on the plane Boston-Colombia-Costa Rica made me so inspired by how brave and confident she is even in the scariest of life moves. No matter how crazy life gets, every single day I am grateful for you Carly. (you da you da beeest)

Zumba party with my mom! We went with her two new Zumba friends and it was 2 hours of dancing. I loved seeing my mom in the front row and really into the music. She just retired and I am proud that she is creating a new, joyful life with things like Zumba.

Father-daughter time for one whole week. He is genuinely the nicest, caring, supporting person and father and I loved each of these days with him. This included a father-daughter Boston seafood dinner, cooking together and hikes.

Skydive Pepperal! Ivan knows how to teach AFFI- which is the rating I was aiming for in Florida. They immediately were SO welcoming and when we were leaving gave us shirts to thank us for visiting. Those jumps really woke me up to the challenge of becoming a skydive instructor. I'm forever grateful for Ivan's help that week preparing with all training. That foliage flying under my canopy was unreal too!

Halloween- Dad and I carved pumpkins, Mom and I made goodie bags and it was so joyful to see our 2 adorable neighbor boys come over in their handmade outfits. Mom, Dad and I then went down to our little village center to sit on the inn porch and watch the trick or treaters.

More time with Ivan at home- I loved showing him more of my childhood home- it seemed to help us understand each other more. My favorite time together there was running the trail through the woods, down to our pond, and on a whim deciding to go out and paddle the canoe. He of course went swimming in the freezing water:)

Through our relationship, especially with all the traveling, we love agreeing we are truly best friends- something that is way more than love to us. I'm positive as kids we would have been best friends too, exploring the woods and finding adventures everywhere.

Face masks! (sorry Dad, had to post this!) We made my dad try it out HAHA! He is such a manly-man- not one inside getting pampered. He was such a good sport about it and we kept telling him how great his skin looked afterwards ;)

Looking through old family photos- see below of when I was little with Carly. My mom thoughtfully made us life scrap books showing the day we were born through college. It brought back the happiest memories and helped to settle questions from the past. After almost a year of traveling and processing, it gave a new peace to look at them now. Thanks Mom <3

Life talks with my dad. It amazes me how he is SO supportive no matter what I'm choosing to do with my life. He would sit there as I just talked out loud about my dreams, questions, fears, ideas for my next steps and everything in between. I swear he is always happy no matter what is going on and that energy always lifts my spirits <3 I love you so much Daddy <3

Cooking in our beautiful kitchen with super healthy food. Traveling has made me so much more appreciative of this. My family was so energetic about trying new vegan, gluten-free recipes together from Kimberly Snyder (www.kimberlysnyder.com).

How much our precious family cat, Diego, loved Ivan. Diego is such a love and especially loves guys. The day Ivan and my dad left to travel, he cried to me for so long in the kitchen. The way to Carly's and my heart? Many things required but #1 is loving our cat ;)

Planet Fitness workouts! Carly generously gave me her membership for when she was in Costa Rica- it made each gym entrance a fun sneak in adventure- I think they totally knew by the end ; ) It was the most fun when she was there but after she left for CR it became such a nice routine. A gym now also seemed like a luxury after a year of traveling. Dad and Ivan also came several times.

HIKING. That fresh NH air, the fall colors and nature sounds refreshes the whole soul.

Getting messages and pictures from my sister about her adjusting SO well to Costa Rica. She went knowing no one and it was her time first south of the U.S. She immediately made friends, fell in love with CR and flourished in that environment. Her joy is incredibly contagious.

My dad and Ivan's relationship. My dad immediately treated him like a son and Ivan respected him like a father. Ivan isn't close with his dad and my dad wasn't close with his- making their bond extra special to me. The night I went to pick up my mom at the airport, they went off to a soccer game, beer and wings.

It was THE best fall weather we had ever had- warm and sunny almost every day. The day before I left, I woke up to snow. As a total cold wimp, seeing the snow felt like such a sign that leaving the next day for Florida was the right path.

Flying to FL after NH was my last planned stop in my travels. I was ready to be working again but was still determined to find work I love. While in NH, an old contact called me to offer me a corporate job in Atlanta. A dropzone in Atlanta also offered me a AFF job if I got the rating. When I started negotiating salary, I was treated with such disrespect. I was faced with either take this job or to not have a plan for after my AFFI course. I'm so proud of myself to say HELL NO to getting into another unhealthy job - and choose uncertainty instead.

Seeing my childhood friend Angie. We went over 5 years not seeing each other, have gone on different life paths, had just kept in touch through Facebook, yet the minute we saw each other, nothing had changed and we had the best time. It was the day I decided to not take the Atlanta position and she was so supportive of everything I've done with my life. She is a beautiful mama to 4 girls and it was so amazing to see her happy.

The day I left for FL, I truly felt amazing. I had focused so hard on health while being home and it really paid off. I wanted to go into my AFF instructor course feeling my very best and I definitely did.

Taking a break from wine. I don't drink a lot but while at home I barely drank at all. My body felt amazing from it and it felt so cleansing.

Watching Ivan save wasps in our house- a bug that's always annoyed our family. This was a new bug to him and he felt SO sorry for them being trapped inside. Instead of killing them, he gently brought them outside, not fearing they would sting him. It was days after the horrific Vegas shooting and seeing that peace and love from my boyfriend gave me an unreal peace.

Working on my blog at Brubakers in Keene. It was so comforting to sit there drinking tea. I realized how much it helps me to plug in to the blog and work work work. Often, the blog has been so hard to keep up with but during a lot of periods I'm so grateful for it as an outlet.

There were family upsets, relationship tests, culture struggles- combined with a fire of uncertainty stress for future everything. Those struggles killed. I believe going through that truly gave an even greater closeness to the relationships in the long run. It's those moments that are real life and give the biggest lessons. Thank you all for pushing through and showing your unconditional love.