What I Miss Most

It has been almost three weeks since I loaded my children, 10 suitcase (50 pounds each), and 5 carry-ons (all over the regulated weight limit) in a Silverbird taxi, rode through the crowded streets for one last time, and said goodbye to Jakarta, Indonesia.

My "radio silence" for the past three weeks is not because I was too busy to write. It was because I couldn't bring myself to write. I was still in mourning.

I finally feel like I can record my thoughts without breaking down into hysterics that might scare my children.

I will keep it simple. 

Here are the top 5 things I will miss most about Jakarta:

5. The Food

Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Gado Gado (Indonesian salad with peanut sauce), Yuli's saute ayam, Soto Ayam (Indonesian chicken soup), mangoes, pineapple, pisang goreng (fried bananas). Yes, there were weeks where we avoided Indonesian food and cooked western-comforts like lasagna and macaroni and cheese. But I will miss the food. The spices. The Hero grocery store (yes, even Hero!) And of course the fresh tropical fruit! 

4. Traveling

I'm not sure what to do with myself to NOT have a future trip on my calendar. I have discovered that I love (as in LOVE!!) traveling, seeing new places, and meeting new people. Australia, Uganda, Bali, France, Italy, Taiwan. The world is an amazing place, and I am so grateful to have seen and experienced a lifetime of travel in the past three years.

3. Jakarta 3rd Ward and the Jakarta Stake

From the thrill of actually finding the right building in the middle of crazy Jakarta to being the ones wearing the translation headphones - how I loved Stake Conference.

And of course the incredible people in my ward:

Oh I will miss these amazing women who taught me so much about service and love!

2. JIS    

I got to work my "Dream Job" for the past two years. I learned from the best of the best how to be a better teacher. I have never felt so appreciated, challenged, and fulfilled. 

I loved my students! 

 I loved my colleagues! (Best AP PLC ever - wow I will miss you Brian and Shana! And Carri Turner - best travel-to-Uganda-partner ever!)

I sobbed when I walked off the JIS campus for the last time. And that's all I can write about that for right now.

1. Yuli

Of all the people, places, and things we've experienced here in Jakarta, it was hardest to say goodbye to Yuli. She was more than an employee. She lived with my family for three years. Yes, she did our laundry and cleaned our house (for which I will miss her tremendously!) and made delicious food. But she also became a member of our family. She loved my children. She picked up Charlotte from Kindergarten every day. She taught me the beauty of living joyfully. The only times I ever saw her sad was when she was worried about someone she loved and when she said goodbye. 

I hope in my life I can learn to live as joyfully as Yuli does. To say we miss Yuli doesn't match the magnitude of the loss we feel to live apart from her. She was cheerfulness incarnate. She was a gift to me and my children. She was the best of Indonesia. 

I am so grateful for the past three years. It has been the best three years of my life.

And that's all I can write, for now.