Plotting

A belated happy Father's Day to all. I sometimes find it quite difficult to get in touch with people back home, and I must apologize for this. I could excuse this shortcoming by stating that I loathe the spotty connection of my VPN, or mention my well-documented anxiety regarding phones, but these are weak at best when it comes to close friends and family. I will step up my efforts, I can promise that.

Back to China and the topic that has been at the forefront of our minds lately: our return stateside. As we continue to work, play, toil and explore, we find ourselves eyeing more carefully our return. OPJ and I have spoken at length about the preconditions for or return and are actively pursuing them. The more with consider the return, the more questions arise. It is not so simple anymore, there are myriad options to weigh, scenarios to consider, both here and when home. Where will home be? How will we transition? What becomes of the years here? What is the path we'll pursue? Will it continue together or has that tandem run its course?

I do not have answers at this point, but there are some positive developments from life here that we hope to incorporate into the life we see for ourselves at home. There is so much from our time here thus far that will positively influence our futures, there are also some faults, some prejudices, and some bias which we must seek to overcome in order to be better men, and to better serve ourselves and anyone involved in our lives from this point on. By addressing these issues now, we hope our transition home will be far more efficient and productive.

We owe an enormous debt to our families for the patience they have exercised, and it is something that we are aware of everyday, and strive to reward. Our friends and other relationships too have all felt some strain, and perhaps unlike many foreigners here, we sincerely wish to rekindle and replenish those relationships which we see as important in our lives.

When I graduated college I made a point to not say goodbye to anyone: Those who I cared for I would see again, and those who I did not care for never really wanted a goodbye anyway. I hope this will remain true as it has so far. Though perhaps that is a bit of optimistic or desperate youth still speaking.