Matt and Kristin in the Philippines

We are exhausted in every possible way, our shadowy eyes bulge under the weight of tear-streaked goodbyes and I love you's, our bodies ache from 2-3 hours of sleep a night this past week, our wallets are bare while our suitcases are full (8 kilos over the allotted weight of 44.4 pounds per person to be exact, and yes,they charge for that). We celebrated our friendships with speeches, laughter,jokes over my cooking abilities and fear of the cockroach'sbite, Matt's introvertedness and my not-introvertedness,and of course,food! We continue to reel in this remembering and departing.

And now we will spend the next week on the beach, internet-less, processing this year and allowing ourselves to grieve and rejoice over the home this has become and will remain a part of us always.