What Will You Remember?

Dear "Big Kids,"

These 8 months in Israel/Palestine have been quite full, haven't they? You probably feel like we've never done more sightseeing in our lives -- and you're right! I know you sometimes (frequently?) wish you could move back to a "boring" place so that we have fewer sites to visit, but I wonder if you'll miss this when we return Stateside.

Yesterday I took you 5 kids to Ramallah for the first time and after leaving the house at 9:15 AM and getting home at 5:45 PM, it felt like a very full day. Granted, we'd only accomplished two things and we'd spent just as much time commuting to and from Ramallah as we did in Ramallah. There were definitely positive aspects to our 'day out,' and yet I wonder what you will remember...

Will you remember my willingness to ask a dozen people for directions since our map apps weren't working? My efforts to understand their Arabic and hand motions? My attempt at copying the Arabic you taught me for "where is the bus station"? Will the day have left you with a confidence at getting around? Or will you remember feeling frustrated and worried about how to get home?

Will you remember Miriam's joy at seeing an unexpected flock of grazing sheep as we made our way to the Arafat Museum? The way I turned around to give her a few extra minutes when she wasn't satisfied with a passing view? Or will you remember the poop on the sidewalk, and waiting in the sun, unsure of how long I'd be?

Watching old footage at Arafat Museum

Will you remember the video footage we saw of 100-years-ago Jerusalem? The Palestinian Declaration of Independence written in beautiful calligraphy? The siege bunker where Arafat lived and worked for 34 months before his death? Or will you remember the way Miriam ran up and down the ramps pushing her stroller and my frustrated efforts to keep Selah from crying?

Palestine's Declaration of Independence

By Arafat's kitchen during 34-month siege

Will you remember the yummy stretchy ice cream we ate at Rukab's? The fun variety of flavors? Going for round TWO? Will you remember the way a server made Selah laugh? And the way Selah tasted her first cone? Or will you think of the way crowds pressed against us as you struggled to decide what you wanted to try?

Will you remember the way a family of Palestinian kids made Miriam laugh and Selah smile on our bus ride back to Jerusalem? The exuberant giggles as Miriam joked around with the 8-year-old boy, saying "Ouch" and laughing even though they didn't speak the same language? The relief when we finally made it onto our final bus headed to Tantur? Or will you think of the complete standstill we were stuck in, as we waited our turn at the Qalandiya checkpoint? And the confusion when we had to disembark one bus only to get on another after the checkpoint? Will you think of your thirst, your need to go to the bathroom, your tiredness?

Boy selling cotton candy to waiting vehicles

Every outing we've taken seems to have been a similar mix of difficult and fun, educational and challenging. I'm so thankful for the places we've visited, the things we've seen, the observations we've made, the lessons we've learned. I'm grateful for your help in carrying heavy backpacks, taking Miriam potty, wearing Selah in the frontpack, schlepping stuff on and off buses. You guys have given up hours of your own time to sightsee with your full-of-wanderlust parents, and for my own part, despite the challenges, this year is one of precious memories. I wonder, years from now, what will you remember?