The Smell of Ohio Grass

Today I am writing our blog from a coffee shop in my hometown. I’m drinking honey-lavender iced matcha and I am very cold.

It’s been nearly six months since I was last in the US; six months doesn’t seem like a long time, some people are away from home for much longer than that, and the last six months spent in the DR have gone by incredibly fast, and yet it feels like forever since I’ve been here, but like I just left at the same time. I forgot some things, like how the grass from home smells. We spent our first few days back in Cincinnati for a wedding, and then drove a few hours home from there. If you’ve been to Cincinnati you know it’s a decently large city, full of tall buildings, heavy traffic in some places and it’s a little hilly, which is different from my hometown, so even though we were back in Ohio, Cincinnati doesn’t feel like home. The first time I felt like I was home was when we stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom on our long drive. I stepped out of the car and a familiar smell hit me and it took me a second to realize what it was. I looked outside and realized that I was close to home because there was nothing around, just this little carryout, some train tracks and an open field of grass, it was the grass that hit me; it smelled so fresh and green and like home and springtime, I never noticed this smell before, I guess because I’m around it all the time, but fresh Ohio grass is truly such a pleasant smell.

Being back at home is such an interesting feeling, even though some things changed, and I forgot some things, there is such familiarity. Our first night in our home town I climbed into my old bed, with my blankets I always used and it felt like laying down after a long day of work like the days I used to have so often would end. My cat came in and slept next to me all night, the room being so cold I could turn my heated blanket on and appreciate the extra heat of our cat cuddling between Christian and I. Some things are muscle memory, like driving around town and going to Walmart, but I still apparently forgot how big Walmart is and the seemingly unlimited amount of everything it has. I forgot about how comfortable things are, like ordering things in my first language, driving on long straight flat roads, drinking matcha from the coffee shop I know so well. I also forgot how cold it is everywhere. I swear every home and building has the AC cranked up to the max, and the weather has been in the low 70s most days with a breeze- I am freezing, but it’s honestly nice, and Christian is thriving, he cannot get enough of this weather.

We’ve been home for almost a full week and it’s been full and busy but also refreshing and relaxing. It’s going by fast and we’ll be back in the DR before we know it, and I have a lot to look forward to there too, but for now I’m taking in everything here in Ohio.

I’ve been reflecting on how important community is. Living in a new place, it can be hard to find community, especially with a language barrier, but God has still provided us with people to connect with when we really need it. It’s a blessing to go to bed late because we’re enjoying the company of new friends and it’s a blessing to have people you can call just to hangout or who text you just to ask how you’re doing.

With being back home, I’ve realized how much of a community we have here, there are so many people we want to see that it’s hard to find the time for everyone, but what a blessing it is to have so many people who love us and care about us, the busyness is truly a blessing. We are so blessed to have such amazing communities both in our home town in Ohio, and in the DR.

More May Highlights:

We had a birthday party for Kelsi and had a great time getting to celebrate her.

We had a girls beach day! It was fun even though it was a rainy day.

We had a couple of great teams this month! We enjoyed getting to know our teams and making some friends.

The day before we flew out we had lunch with some lovely friends we hadn’t seen a while and got to catch up and brush up our euchre skills a bit

The day after we flew back we attended a beautiful wedding of a cousin from Christian’s side of the family.

Our cats have been so snuggly with us, we missed them so much and have been soaking up all the purrs and playtime we can.

We saw the “Mandalorian and Grogu” at the movies with my dad and enjoyed the movie a lot. I’ve watched just about every Star Wars movie and show with my dad since I was a little kid so we couldn’t miss seeing a Star Wars movie together while I was in town.

I went camping with my dad and my sister one night, something I grew up doing all the time but haven’t done for a couple years, so it was nice to spend time with them without any distractions and just catch up and enjoy their company.

We spent two days in Fort Wayne getting to catch up with friends from there and do some shopping.

We attended Hayat Jadida, a church I used to work for, so we got to visit some people we really missed and do the children’s lesson like we always used to.