I thought they would give me a little time to adjust...

But no! I got called into the Primary Presidency only a month after our return to the States. Welcome back, huh!!

Between Primary meetings, morning preschool, afternoon Kindergarten, a 3rd grader/cub scouter, and dragging a baby along to all of the above....I am simply BEAT by the end of each day!! Is this really what American life is like? Did I just forget how crazy it is??? How do all of you do it?

The adjustment to being back Stateside has been EXTREMELY difficult to say the least. Everyone expects us to be "normal" now that we're back....and I feel FAR from it! In Manila, I only had to worry about the basics...that in and of itself was stressful enough in a third-world country! But here, I feel like everyone has so many expectations of me. They expect me to be "normal", and I'm not. They expect me to be able to do everything, and I can't. They expect me to just fit right back into an American lifestyle, and I definitely don't!

Don't get me wrong, I am definitely glad that we took the giant leap of faith (and it WAS giant!) and went overseas...I learned and experienced more than I ever could have imagined!! I grew immensely! I am just a totally different person now...and I'm not sure where I fit into this fast-paced American lifestyle anymore. Since being back, our life hasn't slowed down enough for me to wrap my head around any of it. It's almost like I have to re-learn how to be American again. That probably sounds odd to most of you, but I'm sure my fellow Expats can relate! Re-adjusting is hard!!! Now I know why returned missionaries are so "weird" for awhile when they come home! Adjusting is a long difficult process for anyone....but try having 4 kids in tow while doing it! I can tell you from experience that having a baby in a third world country has got noth'in on this adjustment stuff!!! They say it takes a good year to feel "normal"....and I definitely believe them! The funny part is that we had to take hours and hours of classes to prepare to go overseas, but no one prepares you to come home! Kinda ironic, don't ya think?!

On the upside, I can tell you that I am LOVING doing my own housework (minus the toilets of course)!!