Back in Mongolia at last

We’re back! We’ve been back about two weeks, and I finally feel settled down enough to write about it. When charter flights to Mongolia started up again in the spring, and we started to feel like we could actually make it back into the country, we settled on May as the month to try. There … Continue reading Back in Mongolia at last →

Not quite getting back to Mongolia

It’s been months since I’ve written regularly for this blog. When I started this (a few weeks ago) I couldn’t even remember the last post I’d written, so I just re-read it. September seems like ages ago. Some things have changed, and some have stayed the same, so here’s an update. The punchline: We’re still … Continue reading Not quite getting back to Mongolia →

Saying goodbye to our house

We said goodbye to our house on Friday, July 10. It wasn’t going to be ours anymore, so we wanted to see it one more time when it still was. We had been saying goodbye in one way or another since we’d gotten back from Mongolia last July. We knew we only had one more … Continue reading Saying goodbye to our house →

Letting go

Our house Ever since we returned from Mongolia in July 2019, Emma and I have been talking about moving overseas again. We had a plan even before that, but it was a generalized plan. When Emma finished eighth grade, we’d move away from southern California, maybe to Switzerland (where my mother was from), or to … Continue reading Letting go →

Waiting for Mongolia’s borders to open again

Brand new Monarch butterfly A new post is long overdue. A lot of things have been happening, and I’ve been having a hard time writing. Between the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the movement that’s responding to George Floyd’s murder by police in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor’s murder by police in Louisville, and Auhmad Arbery’s murder by … Continue reading Waiting for Mongolia’s borders to open again →

Our farewell tour

My parents, 2004The day my dad diedThe day after my mom died I'm writing this from Palm Desert, California, which we're visiting for the weekend. It's probably my last time here, and it may be Emma's, though this town has been part of our family history since my parents moved here in 1994. I've spent … Continue reading Our farewell tour →