Well. It HAS been a while hasn't it?

Hello loyal readers. Sorry for leaving this blog completely abandoned for the past 8 months. We feel bad, really we do. It was so abrupt. So unexpected.

At the very least, we owe you guys (and ourselves) a wrap-up entry, a finale, a last episode of Cheers! if you will....Something...

As it turned out, transitioning back to life at home was a heckuva lot harder than transitioning to life in Japan. Which is strange. And which was completely unexpected. I mean, how hard could it be? We were the same people, returning to our same town, our same house, and our same jobs. Or so we thought.

How to explain? It wasn't hard due to any real cultural transition. Its not that we missed rice or noodles or really extraordinary sushi to such a degree that it made us sad. No it wasn't that.

As best as we can figure it out, it was more of a coming down off of a high, of being different, of everything being so intoxicatingly new. Think about it. In Japan, being able to make a dinner reservation on the phone was something that absolutely made your day. Here. Well. Not so much.

There was also a bit of feeling disconnected from our local community at first; it was like starting over again to a degree with local friendships and school connections. And juxtapose that next to missing our many friends that we made while in Japan.

But the proverbial Stella has got her groove back. Or something like that. We are back in business, happy and re-energized. It just took a little while. The fact is, with good friends and a sense of humor and interest in living life to the fullest, life can be an adventure wherever you are. Even if you are in New Jersey! (check out that link!!)

(Hopefully, this spewing forth of thoughts will help out other recovering ex-pats!)

And now, without further ado, or depressing ramblings on, here is the BIG (drum roll please...) catch-up summary of the past months:

• Yankees games at the new Yankee Stadium

• Cooking back in our old kitchen - oh how we missed you!

• Relaxing back at the Lake House

• Visiting New York (and hanging with Japanese tourists)

• Back to School!

• Bike Rides

• Bronx Zoo

• Enjoying Maplewood

• Town Soccer League

• Shabbat Shabu Dinners with Family

• Sailing with Our Cousins

• Halloween, Jacob's Mohawk
  

• Homecoming at Penn

• Lion King on Broadway

• Jacob's Sleepover Birthday Party

• Friends Visit from Japan - Idyllic Wintertime Maplewood

• Winter Snow Fun

• New Year's Family Vacation to Puerto Rico

• Mike and Lauren Hit MoMa

• Vermont Winterfest Weekend

• Superbowl Party

• Town Basketball League

Man. That was a good exercise. We did a ton of great stuff!