You know you’re in transition when…

Here are some of the signs I’ve seen in my own life that reveal to me that I am not yet settled. I’m getting there, though!

• Cars seem to move really slowly
• I have a hard time not speeding
• Road signs look different, so I have trouble follow obvious directions
• The thought of only being a 7.5 hour drive away from my boyfriend makes me intensely happy
• I still don’t have a house key
• I don’t own a pair of blue jeans… yet
• I have an old flip phone
• T9 texting is really slow for me
• Long conversations on the phone are now a happy part of life
• Sooner or later I’ll have to figure out how to deposit checks again
• A piece of bread I sliced myself just made me really happy
• High humidity counteracted the ease of running on flat ground
• I might have just unpacked my last suitcase, but I still don’t know where all my socks are.
• Packing, unpacking, and re-packing simultaneously seems to be the norm
• I voluntarily went clothes shopping – and actually bought stuff! And I still have more to buy!
• Though I don’t have a job, I don’t feel useless. God is my employer, and the work He has for me to do this coming school year may not be what others would call work.
• I’m talking really quickly as if I have 4 years of emotion to share all at once but I can’t put it into words
• I’m the one at the party with all the crazy stories, but those “crazy” stories were just my normal life up till now
• Hugs with certain people are more intense
• The goodbyes and hellos haven’t ended, but I accept them now as a beautiful part of the fabric of my life

The biggest reverse culture shock has been with driving. Since I’ve been back to the States several times in the last 4 years, most stuff is just the “other normal.” But I hadn’t been back since owning a car in Germany, so now all the road signs and wide roads with slow speed limits are throwing me off.

Right now, I’m enjoying the fact that I can actually settle in instead of living out a suitcase, feeling like a nomad. All my stuff is in one country, in one house. That feels good.