Return to PKA

I was so excited when we stepped off from the plane in Anchorage on May 5. The thrill of being back in Alaska energized me, even though we were a little sleep deprived from the night before in Chicago. Within a couple of hours, we had stopped for a late at the Spenard Road House, which has become one of our regular choices in Anchorage, and we were in our hotel room.

Alice had been great throughout the flight, despite the fact that she had slept only a little. But now, our little Kusko girl was tired out. It was only five o clock local time, but she had had all that she could take. Crash!

In the meantime, I had dropped the word on Facebook that we were in town. I learned that some village friends were there, too. After a few exchanged messages, there was a soft knock at our door. It was our friends Alex and Jolene, along with the younger of their two sons. Their visit provided a warm welcome back home.

The Circle Goes Round Again

It has been nearly a year since we left, and we are preparing to return. A week from tomorrow, we will drive back to Chicago, a trip we made many times to begin the school year, or a new semester. This time, however, we are returning at the end of the school careers of several of our former students. It is graduation time in Napaskiak.

We have been planning to do this, in some halting way, since we left. We promised to return, for my wife's graduation in Juneau, and for the kids that I first met as seventh graders in Napaskiak. Although my wife just completed her degree program, with a Master's degree in Special Education, the Juneau trip has fallen by the wayside. The commencement at the University of Alaska/Southeast conflicts with commencement in PKA. Guess how long it took to make that decision?

We will be in the village long enough to celebrate Mothers' Day with our friends, and we intend to do some visiting in Anchorage as well.

It won't last nearly as long as we would like, because our lives here don't have the flexibility that used to permit us long, leisurely vacations. Michigan is a more jealous mistress of our time than was Alaska. We need to get back, and we need to go to work, and we need to tend to our responsibilities here. But for a little while, the three of us will go back home again. For a little while...

Home (?)

We looked at houses what seemed like every Monday evening after work. We would pick two or three of the offerings in our price range. We didn't want them to blend in together too much. We found the one that we wanted on our last set of visits. We thought about it, and looked at it again.

This one was the one. Lots of room, plenty of bathrooms, a playroom for Alice, and a den for Dada. Maybe we were reacting to years of living in small spaces. We bought it.

We have been in since just before Halloween. We have done a few things already. We had the main level painted professionally. We loved the colors that we picked.

I didn't realize, though, how it would feel until today, when we returned from taking Alice to see her grandparents, both in Alabama, and in Southern Michigan. I didn't realize fully that I would walk in and feel like this was home. Calming, and peaceful. A place to rest.