I wrote this on Sept 1, after we'd been here for about 2 wks. One of the biggest adjustments has been the slow, stuttering and expensive internet access. And then my laptop has been wifi challenged on top of that. So I haven't posted it yet, but tonight it's all coming together so here we have it....
9/1/19
Flying to Anchorage from Glasgow for our a turn-around week I felt like I was at the beginning of a Ninja Warrior obstacle course. I was positive about my chances: I’m well trained up in transitions and was relaxed - yet focused on my tasks. It was a daunting list: move our ridiculous amount of stuff out of storage to either the Crash Pad or Unalaska, facilitate quality time with the kids’ friends, shop for back to school and living in Unalaska (hello Costco), get the car to the ferry in Homer, do all the “life maintenance” appointments we could fit in, hike, and get some quality friend time in myself.
I didn’t frost the cookie to myself, and was expecting to be extremely stressed. So imagine my surprise, relief, and joy when I found myself, on my second evening home, jet lagged but happy: hanging out with a small smattering of dear friends from different areas of life and laughing, connecting, telling stories, and catching up. On of my oldest and dearest friends had come up from Seattle following the peaceful death of her elderly mom, and that healthy reminder of mortality set the priorities for the week.
(Janet’s mom was just one of the moms in my life growing up - much like the parents in the Charlie Brown cartoons, we often were guilty of assuming our parents existed as a backdrop to our adolescent dramas. But, sitting in her service, I was in awe at her life. She was roughly my age now when she adopted her 2 daughters…stunning bravery. )
The days passed all too quickly, mostly filled with all good things. Of course there were the frazzled moments…alone in traffic…late to some appointment…with a car full of crap…and an endless list, but those moments didn’t dominate my week. Instead, I luxuriated in the love and support of friends and family: my nephew who helped me move furniture on 2 separate evenings, the hikes and other time spent with friends, dinner with my family, an evening with my book club, quiet time in the Crash Pad (a condo that we’re sharing with a few other out-of-town health care providers so that we can all have an oasis in Anchorage) ….all that is good in the world.
Tuesday was my crux day and I got our Unalaska car to the Trusty Tustumena at the ferry terminal in Homer on time, and got help from an old friend who drove it onto the ferry while I took a flight home. In the process I created a life lesson for myself by leaving the keys to the “Anchorage car” in the “Unalaska car” that was on the ferry for 4 days. Lelia came to the rescue by getting the spare key from Mom’s condo, but it was interesting how ballistic I went on myself. How many of us a) panic and b) berate ourselves when we make a mistake that, if anyone else had made it, we would have a) kindly said, “No biggie, we’ll figure this out.” And b) calmly problem-solve through it. AmIright?! AFGE
Murray arrived on Wednesday after tucking the Young Larry into her winter home in Ardfern Marina. Thursday…is a blur. Friday Sam and I flew out too Unalaska….
So enough about getting out here: We are in Unalaska!!! LIVING HERE!
In a nutshell: I love it. I’m so happy we’re here. I was terribly anxious about the kids. They have had to adjust in ways I don’t, and I worry how our nomadic life choices will affect them. They both miss their friends terribly, but I’m so impressed by their resilience. So far they’re meeting new friends, getting involved in activities, and settling in. I’m very, very proud of and impressed by them.
Unalaska is breathtakingly beautiful - that fact often gets missed in the stories about the terrible weather, WW II, the tragedies that the indigenous Unangan (Aleut) people have survived, and the Wild West fishing industry. It is a diverse community clinging between the mountains and the sea - thriving at the edge of the world. It is a liminal space in many ways - balanced between the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, Asia and North America, the land and the ocean, civilization and wilderness.
At this point our big effort has been devoted to moving in, starting school, and getting oriented at work. We’ve gone on a few fabulous hikes and just scratched the surface of the community. We’ve also rested a lot and I’m enjoying the feeling of getting rooted in my space.
**I'm posting photos on Instagram at akjenh. Mostly of hikes, because hiking makes me happy - which is when I take photos. **
