1. Kelly says:

    Wonderful to have you back and back to writing. I am sure it will still come in spits and spurts as you and your family continue to adjust to your life in the US. Grocery shopping for the first time in the US in years is exhausting. It will get easier as you determine which flour you will regularly buy. Soon you will be whizzing down the aisles plucking exactly what you want from the very same spot each visit. I think it took us (only shopping for 2 people) 1 1/2 hours the first time. Now we can do it in about 15-20 minutes. It does get easier. Also, avoid TV especially the “news” – which only causes stress. You can get all the “news” you want the same way as when you were in Mexico and keep the stress levels down. The family looks awesome. I hope Hunter will start posting/blogging about his new adventure too.

  2. Hayley says:

    You totally rock!! I’m so excited for your new stateside adventure! xoxo

  3. Babs says:

    I’ve been in Mexico for 14 years. When traveling back to Texas, the first thing that hits me between the eyes is all the “Stuff”. Grocery stores, clothing, toys of grandchildren, phones everywhere. It truly is overwhelming. I forgot to mention the traffic!
    My life in San Miguel is so uncomplicated and peaceful that I often wonder if I could blend back in….it might happen some day. Thanks for writing an absolutely beautiful and thoughtfully written manifesto of the trip.
    Enjoy. Your family is lovely. Good luck on this new adventure!

  4. Anka says:

    Sorely missed your writing, too 😉
    Quite an intense phase you´re going through. So much resonates with my heart, thank you for sharing 🙂
    You´re an awesome human+e being – love yourself!!
    Big hugs <3

  5. Kerrie says:

    Happy to have you back in Internet Land! Sounds like things are going exactly as would be expected (maybe even a little better?). I love how you are able to step outside of a situation and figure out the root of your fear/insecurity/anxiety in order to learn how to best move forward. It’s a remarkable skill that I really hope to better hone.

    xoxo Kerrie

    p.s. Love your office/studio. What an inspiring place!

  6. Catherine says:

    ‘Re-entry’ as we called it is difficult, it took about 4 months before I felt like I could exhale. And it took another 3 months before I started to actually understand what our time away had been all about, how we had changed and what we had learned about ourselves and about how we wanted to live our lives.

    We have now been ‘home’ almost a year and this week we have decided to ‘go back out’ into the world, but this time we shall put our house up for sale as opposed to rent it.

    I’m filled with that heady mix of excitement and fear, but the one absolute truth that I know for sure is that we are always looked after. We never went hungry, we were never without somewhere to stay, and we met the most incredible people along the way.

    Be gentle with yourself, being ‘home’ is as much a part of the adventure as being ‘away’. And like a pebble dropping to the bottom of a pond, it takes time for everything to ‘settle’. Thank you for sharing your journey and your wisdom. Catherine x

  7. Tamima says:

    Thank you for sharing! I love the feeling I have after reading your posts! (I live near NYC and also spend 10 minutes picking out flour, always.) I have longed for a simpler life with less choices, options, advertising (I love Tulum!), but my girls are now women making their lives here, so it’s refreshing and comforting to read your perspective and see your process.

  8. Taos says:

    When people ask me how Mexico was, how I am, why we came back, if I am SO happy to be out of that place, if I love being back home, what place I like better, they don’t actually want an answer.

    It’s all a lie. They don’t care.
    I am so sick and tired of lying to everyone. I’m sick of lying to myself.

    Instead of saying “I’m great, thanks! Mexico was good but I’m glad to be back home.”
    Here’s my answer:

    Mexico was amazing.
    I’m pretty crappy.
    We came back because it was time, for ALL OF US.
    No, I’m not so happy to be gone, nobody in their right mind would be. But my time there is done and no, I don’t really miss it.
    Mexico changed me forever and I am so so glad to have had the experience.
    But I’m sick of people trying to understand what I went through. It was hell. If there is anything that stands out about what I learned from living there is that even in the darkest moment, there’s always light. In hell there is always something beautiful.
    I love Mexico and I always will and it will forever be home.
    This place is not home. Not yet at least, and I’m hoping that will change. But for now, it’s just another place I’ve lived.
    I like Mexico better. Period.
    So there’s your answer. Sorry to disappoint you. But you weren’t even wanting a real answer now were you. 🙂
    My mind is open and I have no expectations. But I’m done lying.

    • Susana says:

      Taos Preciosa!!! Send you Huge hug full of Love!!! All of you are always in our hearts, and hopefully one day we will get to visit you, the kids miss you girls! Life is a great adventure!!!

    • Katy says:

      We don’t want your lies anyway. We want your truth, the vulnerable, frustrated, raw, messy, and beautiful truth that encapsulates how you feel at.this.moment. And when you let it out like you did here, you will move people more deeply than any little white lie will ever soothe them.
      It is worth noting your mama’s words early in the article, though, to realize who is ready to support you in voicing your truth vs. those who really just want to hear the easy lie and move on.
      You, your sisters, your Daddy, and especially your mama, are very loved and very appreciated–by many, no doubt–but I’m speaking for myself here <3

  9. mrsY says:

    Wonderful post as always, I have really missed you online! You say what I think yet much more eloquently and organized.

    In my family, wanderlust is a bit threatening to those who haven’t traveled much because they can’t comprehend the need to travel or how those of us who love to travel see the world. Answering a question like that for me has been very dependent on the same things you mention above, I now know who really wants to know and who is just being socially chatty. Both are fine, we need this world to be diverse, to travel to places and spend time with those that don’t.

    Hugs to you and your family. May this chapter in your lives be amazing and full of wonderful memories.

  10. HeronSister says:

    Beth, great to see you back posting! Taos — thank you for your real answer.

  11. DeAnna says:

    Love you’re back and love reading your blogs. So true it’s how we view our possessions that causes stress. The people I’ve met and love in Africa have so much joy and have very little. Such a big lesson learned.
    Love you, love your family and hope to visit you soon! 😉

  12. michelle says:

    Thanks for sharing. So glad you are online again!

  13. Luna says:

    Love your office space!! I love that house! It’s so cute! I also love you , Taos !!

  14. heidi says:

    this was really wonderful to read. it felt easy and breezy. i loooove the pictures too of course. i CAN’T wait to come visit. it was a tease seeing you all. much loooove sister.

  15. Your girls are beautiful! And your new home too, especially your office! I’ve missed yr writing but as a busy mama too, I totally get it even though my life is much less complicated than yours at the moment! Phew. My husband does most of our grocery shopping and I avoid malls and glossy mags, so when I do go into a store other than a thrift place, I’m totally overstimulated, overwhelmed and bewildered by the choices. And a little nauseous. I used to think there was something wrong with me for getting anxious and seasick in a mall but now I take that as a sign that I’m actually more in touch with what’s real.

  16. Rachel Smith says:

    I love that you’re back to just sharing what/when you’d like! Enjoy! (We will!)

  17. Andrea says:

    so happy to read your post today! you have been missed!

  18. Amanda says:

    Yup. I do love your kind of crazy. Welcome back, in so many ways.

  19. Ruviana says:

    Yay, you’re back!! Yay yay yay!

  20. Peggy says:

    Wow, what a great update. I didn’t realize I’d been missing hearing from you 🙂 I totally agree with you that re-entry into our culture is super super jarring. Thank you for sharing all of that, it was so wonderfully stated. I just finished reading, “Eat, Pray, Love”, today and Elizabeth’s thoughts and yours (on culture, transitions, love, etc.) blend together perfectly for me. I’m going to wrap them up in a little satchel and carry them on my wrist <3

  21. Amanda says:

    HI Beth! It was so nice to meet you and some of your family at Carly’s the other night~ I look forward to getting to know all of you more in years to come. I hadn’t been over here in a while and our meeting prompted me to check in again to see if you’d written at all since you returned. I really enjoyed reading about the whole process and (ongoing) transition. I will say I laughed as I read your words about reverse culture shock, having difficulty shopping, and references to your post about the garbage-strewn beach, as they were all things that came up in our initial conversation- I laughed not necessarily because they were funny, but because you’d just written this and there I was mentioning all these things. we should get together~

    cheers from down the road (sorta)

  22. Luminosa says:

    Welcome back. Good to hear from you again. I completely relate to your culture shock upon return – resonates with my experience returning from Kenya. I remember being absolutely amazed at how smooth the roads were – it felt surreal. And I remember standing at my bathroom sink turning the water on and off again in complete wonder at running water. It was actually quite difficult, though, in a lot of other difficult-to-describe ways. I think we allow ourselves lots of space to adjust to a new culture, but just assume we’ll jump back into our own culture upon return, but that process needs just as much space and kindness and curiosity and understanding as the other. You probably already know all that, though. The main reason I’m writing is to ask if you’d share your financial story with us. How is it you are able to afford such a beautiful home, and the opportunity to both pursue your own interests professionally? I don’t ask in a “hey! How come she gets to have all that?!” Or in a “she can only do all this because she must have family money somehow” way, but in a genuine “share with us how you’ve made it work” way. Money is so often an obstacle preventing us from taking the leap to pursue our dreams and gifts to the world. How have you managed/overcome/dissolved/worked around it? I would so very much appreciate your wise perspective on that element of life. It seems to have remained a mystery on your blog – a missing piece of your story – and I can only imagine that sharing your insights about it would be really valueable. Thank you for the work you do and the gift you give of your viewpoint and experience. Your life inspires my own.

  23. alexa says:

    Beautiful writing. We were in Lebanon in 2012 for 6 months and while it wasn’t that long comparatively speaking, it was still a culture shock coming back home to Canada. Hoping you settle in soon!

  24. Rachael says:

    Totally intrigued by your writing. Although I haven’t had the same journal (moving internationally), I can relate to some many of the things you write about. Just love it. Thanks for making the time for this.

  25. Hello Beth.
    Welcome back. My friend Donovan spoke of you today so I figured I’d swing by and howdy and all. Crisp writing. Great internal/external observational stance. Everything and more Donovan had so warmly implied.
    Book on!
    Murvel

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