The Unveiled Truth

So we didn't stay in Singapore to house sit. We didn't even stay in Asia! The journey had to come to an end. Leighton and I were feeling quite travel-weary way back when we were in Phuket in February. It must sound a bit strange because we haven't mentioned it at all. That was all part of the secret ploy to surprise Leighton's parents, our most avid readers. Well, the gig is up and the truth comes out. Four months was about 1 month too long.

Except for our wonderfully lazy week in Phuket at Melinda's and Sarah's house. Thank God in Heaven for their hospitality! We spent almost that entire week glued to the TV doing almost nothing. We barely left their house! But it was all for the best. We were tired. We were sore. We were traveled out! All we wanted to do was sit around in a house in a vegetative state. We had ZERO interest in seeing anything. We couldn't bare the thought of a temple, museum, or palace. Even our ventures into the darling downtown of Phuket Town with its Portuguese-colonial shop-houses became daunting and exhausting. All we wanted was to go home. Thanks to Dear Melinda and Sweet Sarah we had that opportunity. As a result, we felt better.

When we finally departed and found ourselves in Hat Yai we found ourselves in a state of excitement. A new adventure! A new place! All that homesick weariness was fading, and our spirits were up. By the second or third day in Georgetown our furious desire to "go home" washed out into the straights that surrounded the island. And thank God! Malaysia was one of our favorites! Everywhere we went was impeccably clean and filled with kind people and stop-you-in-your-tracks-delicious food. We were happy again. We craved the next place. And yet, we were tired. We were ready for a bit of rest. What we needed was to stay in one place for more than a week.

Now, in Timaru, we are "home," in a house that Leighton saw only in its early stages of being built and I've only seen in pictures. But it feels like home. Leighton's parents are wonderfully kind and the house feels exceedingly like home. In New Zealand the winters are quite warm and, as a result, houses aren't fully heated like they are in the States. They have a "heat pump" (which looks identical to the A/C in my apartment in Seoul) that heats the open-plan living spaces (kitchen, living room). The remainder of the house (bedrooms & bathrooms) aren't heated. The beds have electric blankets under the fitted sheet and the bathroom has a heated towel rack (and the best shower we've had in months).

So here we are. We've cooked some of our favorite meals and shared some of our stories. We've unpacked for what I hope is the last time for a while. Computers booted up and recharged. Clothes laundered and put away into drawers. Two men, tired and weary, at home and restless with the lack of direction. I literally paced the house today while watching TV (freaking MacGuyver on TV!!). I couldn't sit still...