All Good Things Must Come to an End

I don’t know, where you’re going

Or when you’re coming home

I left the keys under the mat to our front door

For one more chance to hold you close

I don’t know, where you’re going

Just get your a@* back home

Gym Class Heroes (and pretty much a direct quote from my mother)

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Once again, we have big news!

Our expat journey is coming to an end. 

We will be returning home to Michigan this summer! 

The first question I’ve been asked when I tell people our news is, “how do you feel about that?”. Well, It’s actually one that’s easy for me to answer. I AM SO EXCITED!!!

Don’t get me wrong, living life abroad is amazingly awesome! If you have followed our journey, you’ve seen how we have taken full advantage of this opportunity we’ve been given. We have learned to rely heavily upon God, experienced different cultures, traveled the world, and met some really incredible people. I cannot even tell you how grateful I am for the 3 1/2 years we have lived in Asia. But, when faced with the opportunity to move back home, I’ve opened a part of my heart that I didn’t realize I had closed up tight when we left. 

What I mean is, leaving loved ones behind, especially two of our children is incredibly difficult. I told myself all the time that our older two are grown and have moved out on their own so we wouldn’t see them much even if we still lived in Michigan. However, there’s comfort in the fact that although you may not see them every day, you could if you wanted to. You could jump in a car and drive a few hours just to see their faces or to give them a great big hug. I’ve missed that so deeply and realize how I’ve had to suppress that loss in order to enjoy our lives abroad. 

Now, on another note, when the older two have come out to visit, we have gone on such grand adventures, making our time apart a bit more manageable. We hiked The Great Wall of China, bathed elephants in Thailand, saw the great Terra Cotta Warriors, walked the ancient steps of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, jumped off boats in the Andaman Sea, and hiked our way through Scotland. As a whole, we did more than I could ever imagine. Yes, our adventures when we were together were grand indeed. And again, I am so grateful for the amazing opportunities we were all given. Experiencing all we did together meant more to me than anything else on this journey.

But now we are repatriating. Moving back to the familiar. Although our adventures may become a little less grand, I cherish the thought of celebrating many small milestones together. Gathering around the table for Thanksgiving dinner, ringing in the new year, singing “happy birthday” and watching my family blow out their candles. All these things have been very deeply missed.

I hope you will celebrate this huge milestone with us. We look back on the amazing journey we’ve been on with humble and thankful hearts. Will this mean the end of The Bunch Abroad? I think not! We have many more adventures to go, including the huge adventure of repatriation. Many people have told me that this is actually the most difficult part of living abroad. Eek! 

As you can see, these are exciting times in the Burin household! And don’t think for one minute that we are planning on moving back home without any fanfare. You know us better than that! No, we plan on going out with a bang by planning a few more incredible trips and still have lots more to experience together. Today I am simply grateful for God’s never-ending blessings and providence over our lives. He is good, and we are blessed beyond measure.

Now on to what might be our biggest adventure yet…repatriation! 

Let’s do this!