Tuesday afternoon our British Airways flight from Heathrow touched down at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. Tricia and I looked at each other and mouthed the words, “I miss Europe.” We packed carefully so as not to forget anything, yet we left a bit of us behind. My Friend Shirley will enthusiastically remind us of all the memories we did pack, yet she of all people will understand our love of France.

“So ask the traveled inhabitant of any nation, ‘In what country on earth would you rather live?’ Certainly in my own, where are all my friends, my relations, and the earliest and sweetest affections and recollections of my life. Which would be your second choice? France.” Thomas Jefferson

On one of our last days in Paris we visited the canals and I sketched swans.

Then on Sunday we took a taxi to Gare du Nord to catch the Eurostar to go under the Chunnel and on in to Saint Pancras in London. We were both churning with the feelings of leaving, I expressed it in two side beside sketches.

The view racing past us was of Normandie, our home for two years.

This painting was done on the flight – 37,000 feet over the Atlantic.

When we boarded that Delta Airlines flight at SeaTac in March 2022, loaded with luggage and our beloved Neville in his carrier, we both asked, “What in the world are we doing?” Twenty-one hours later, after a ten hour flight and a five hour drive from Paris to La Thebauderie in Normandie we stepped into the 230 year old house that would be our home for two and a half years. As I walked through the door and saw the realities of how rustic it was I thought, “Oh, my. What have we done.”

In just a few hours we will board an Alaska Airline flight for Seattle, the final leg of this return journey. We still have a bit of luggage, we have already shipped a lot of things on ahead, and with heavy hearts Neville is not with us.

As heavy hearted as I may be about leaving France what lies ahead keeps me going. Tonight we will be with our dear friends in Mukilteo, dinner at Cabernets &IPAs, our favorite place when we lived there. Then over the next few days we will see Tricia’s sister and family. Then on to Portland where we will stay with our dear friends while we settle and plan our next move. Then a week from this Sunday we will see Alexis and Joe. If it was not for all these people who are thrilled to have us nearby I would truly be sad, they are why we came back, and I am sure it will be well worth the change.

Many years ago, I was maybe 12, my dad said, “home is where the heart is.” Well if that is true then we are returning home because our hearts are with our friends and family, they are so important.

Thank you all who follow this blog and comment on it, what an honor, I hope we continue to travel together, even if our journeys are not quite as long. I hope your journeys are pleasant and you are capturing the moments, these are the treasures we get to keep.