I am finally back at Camp Sunnyside and I love it even more than last time. I am a different person this time around and coming back to where my adult life really began helps me to see just how much I have changed. When I got here two weeks ago, it felt a bit like walking in to the past, except I was greeted by a whole host of new faces. It feels strange to be back, but it also feels right and I am so happy to be here.

Jeff has started his bike ride across the USA and is currently in Nevada after riding 110 miles on Sunday. He is still asking for sponsorship donations so please go to www.myjoh.org and donate now if you haven’t already, to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities. We have been able to talk on the phone most days and I think we are doing okay being apart. I guess we are used to it by now, and besides, I am way too busy to miss him during the day!

In other news, Jeff has accepted a job offer as a math teacher in Bonn when we get back in August. This is great news for us as it means we won’t both be jobless when we get back. It also means we will definitely live in Bonn for another year before deciding where to go next…

I’m in Lawrence. If you are too (and I know you) then we should get together!

It’s been long enough since I lived here that it no longer feels like home, but it is of course wonderful to be back, to spend time with Jeff’s family and to catch up with the few friends we still have here. I guess Bonn is our home now, but it is weird to call it that since we don’t actually have a place to live or jobs there anymore! When someone asks me where I’m from (usually because they are confused by my English-American accent), I automatically say England, but I don’t feel like I’ve answered the question completely unless I can add, “but I went to KU and I live in Germany.” Sometimes not being settled in one place bothers me: I long for a home that I can make my own, neighbours I can get to know, a dog, maybe even a family… Right now it doesn’t bother me though. Jeff and I are both undecided about our future, about ‘what to do’ with our lives, but at the moment it’s fun to talk about the possibilities, to not know where we’ll be in a year or what we’ll be doing.

We have this Summer planned at least! I start work at Camp Sunnyside in just over two weeks time, not long before Jeff begins his Journey of Hope. As you can see on his website, he is making good progress with both training and fund-raising. He just bought a bike for the trip, very expensive but also very cool, and up to the task of getting him across the country!

Btw, the title of my blog is kind of an inside joke that only one person will be able to appreciate, and I’m not sure that she even reads my blog, but I’m not changing it.

This song played over 6 and a half years ago as I prepared to leave Jeff to go traveling with friends and then head back to England. At that time we were going to be apart for 4 months, after dating for just four weeks. Tonight Jeff is preparing to go to the US and I’ll see him in just over five weeks time, but I still want to save tonight…