Would We Do It Again?

As the days begin to wane and the promise of a new school year comes to fruition, I took some time to reflect back on our Gift of a Year.  Would I go back in time and do it again, knowing the rocky yet beautiful trail?  Would the kids? Would Adam?

In the final blog post from this journey we share our thoughts and responses - unedited.

Caleb Antonio

If I could go back to Argentina I would.  I would because then I could see my friends.  I get to speak a different language.  I can get a nice house that is not to small for all of us.  But then I can't see my friends in Seattle.  So I could have a house here to.  Then I could visit once and a while for a year in a year or two years. ★★★ My mom got hit by a car so we went to California.  Then we went back to Argentina because it was nice there.  The end by, Caleb, in Seattle.

SoJo

If I could I would totally go on another sabbatical.   It was a lot of fun besides mom getting hit by a car.  That made me hesitate about going back to Argentina.  Besides that and Mom homework, it was a lot of fun.  My favorite part was that we lived so close to the beach.  We went there almost every day. I liked to go body boarding on the waves.  Another thing I really liked about the beach were all the penguins, seals, and whales.  

★★★

Now that you know what happened in the hospital I am going to tell you what happened outside of the hospital.  A few days after Mom left to Iguazu falls Dad started acting funny.  He wasn't talking a lot, and he was letting us eat dinner in front of a TV.  The next morning when I went downstairs, Dad told me that last night Nonno texted him and said that something happened to Mom because when they woke up the police people told him that someone named Anne Leache was in the hospital.  Once Dad told us the news we all freaked out, so we packed and planed trips to Buenos Aires.  Of course during the process we have to move out of the house and wash everything we own because the house is filled with bugs!  I would say we went back and forth from Puerto Madryn to Buenos Aires 5 times or more.  A few times we had to cry so that the doctor would let us see Mom.  One thing I will never forget is all the traffic.  Sometimes we spent hours in TAXIS 😩!

Carmela

Sabbatical

We all loved going sabbatical but the question is would we go again. Would be willing to go through all of it again. The happy, the sad. The hope the despair. The stress and anxiety to the relaxation and carelessness. I think the answer is obvious, to me at least. 

         Yes!!!!! To those of you who said no, “ WHAT THE HECK IS YOUR PROBLEM!!!???? Besides that little fact that mom got hit by a car…ARE YOU CRAZY?!?! DID YOU NOT SEE HOW HAPPY WE WERE??!?!?! IF NOT GO BACK RIGHT NOW AND RE-READ ALL OF THE BLOG POSTS UNTILL YOU ARE RECITING ALL OF THEM IN YOUR SLEEP AND SAYING, ‘THEY ARE HAPPY!!!!!!’

AHHHH! &#%(!&%&#&#(&%%($%&!(#&%$(%^!!!!!!!!!"

     Right. Now that I got that out of my system… I would totally do it all again. Every second of it. From packing to leave and unpacking once we got home.

      I still remember that graduation party for us when we were in fifth grade. The reveling of who liked who, Sojo getting hit in the head with a basket ball, and me crying for like, half an hour because I would miss my friends. Yeah, thanks for asking but I do fell pretty stupid looking back on that. I guess I couldn’t process the fact that I would see all of my friends again at the end of the summer. But thank you to those of you who pushed through my idiotic crying and lent me your shoulder to cry on. Even though my little tantrum had very un-logical timing, you guys were lifesavers; so thank you. Again. 

I can’t believe it took me a year to say that.

♭♭♭♭♭

     Looking back its really weird to see every thing that I did right and wrong. Good or bad. My accomplishments and failures. It's like I am standing on top of a mountain and looking out at the landscape of the past year. Down at the mountain that I climbed.

     
     Now you are probably thinking, you are missing the fact that your mom got hit by a car in the middle of your vacation and sort of changed the plans for the rest of the year. 

         You probably thought that before mom got hit by a car my life was like a book. Ya know, girl graduates 5^th grade goes to argentina for a year has a hard time adjusting ect. Then her mom gets hit by a car and her life is in shatters and starts going on a downward spiral. Well the thing is that that isn’t really true. Life was getting better right? Them mom gets hit by a car and you expect that every thing that we built was destroyed. You are right. I was like that for a little bit. But all that bad just made some thing better. Mom found amazing people at therapy and we all found friends family in Argentina.

So yes I would do it all again...

ugh... 
I didn't want any of it to end.

This is killing me.

Until the next sabbatical, Amigos!

Adam

First, I want to thank Anne for posing such a fun and intriguing question for her grand finale blog post. It has a little bit of a science fiction flare. Clearly, if I had the ability to consciously decide whether or not I would relive last year knowing what transpired during our first iteration in this dimension, then there must be some sort of supernatural powers at work. Is it a supernatural species, or aliens, or a cool new retro-active life service from Trans-dimensional Uber, or a silver DeLorean with a flux capacitor? Anyways, no matter` how this time travel thing works, I think that Anne would be happy with any rendition of last year. That's the way she is. You can hit her with a car, and she's still going to enjoy life to the fullest. It wouldn't matter if her prequel was a rom-com, thriller, or horror. It's really inspirational.

Personally, I think that I would make one fundamental change to the timeline. However, success would require the difficult task of bending Anne's will towards my own. I don't have that particular superpower. My real superpowers are quite limited. This is how my powers work: when I'm faced with the decision of picking which line to wait in at a store (or in any situation where queuing up is involved), the queue that I pick always decreases in rate relative to all other queues independently of the lengths or prior rates of movement of the other queues. It sucks for me, but helps everyone else tremendously. You can test my powers if we ever go shopping together - just go in the line next to me and you will just speed right through. It's really amazing. Please wait for me at the exit.

Anyone who knows Anne knows that Anne is going to do what Anne wants to do. I have trouble believing that I could ever convince Anne to take a break from running for just one morning. Not even my prescient knowledge of her collision with a rogue Ford Fiesta piloted by Jesus would be enough to change her mind. I guess that I would need to take extreme measures and sabotage her flight to Buenos Aires. If she isn't in the city, then she's not getting hit by the car. Maybe I could just hide her passport and ID. Oh man, she would be so angry! Anyways, it sure would have been convenient if Anne did not get hit by that car. But seriously, I'm extraordinarily happy with how our year turned out. It has not changed my attitude about traveling or living abroad. I'm really excited to live abroad again on my next sabbatical in 2025. Anne is invited too. Anne, I promise that I will not try to sabotage your daily run. If you are lucky you might be able to convince me to join you:)

Anne

To hike this path knowing the crags and vistas, the stress on my loved ones, the admirable kindness, the global generosity, the tender friendships, the community in our protected Patagonian pocket, the scarred body that will never be the same, and the spirit saturated with joy.  Would I do it again?  Yes.

I speak that truth with the upmost thanks and appreciation.  This year, this experience, and this journey have been a gift.  A gift from God to grow and love and deepen my relationships, understand my mind, imbue my spirit, and step back and solidify the core of my life.









As the school year begins and Adam, Carmela, SoJo, Caleb, and I return to our classrooms, we are challenged to use this gift and reflection to engage more, laugh more, pray more, sleep more, eat more, and be present more in body and mind.

Thank you for going on the journey with us.  It was a joy and honor to share our mud and sparkles.

Running Happy in My Brooks!

I love my Brooks running shoes and was thrilled that several people in the Brooks community followed our adventures.  In January, Brooks gifted me a gorgeous pair of gortex Cascadia running shoes, and when we got back to Seattle, my daily jogs took me past the flagship store and corporate office.  I reached out in hopes of meeting the kind souls with whom I had connected, and early Thursday morning on my way to work, we met up outside the shop.  It was so fun to meet Alli and Chance and have the opportunity to personally thank them for their kindness! We were all sporting our Brooks and ready to RUN HAPPY! 

Thanks Brooks!  I am so happy to be running again.  Always happy.  Always with a smile.  Siempre con una sonrisa grande y fuerte!

Shoulder Party!!

For months, I have been STUCK in getting my arm higher than 90 degrees when I lift it straight up.  Mira...  Los fotos!  La evidencia!

January

February

April

March

May

June

July

Claudio called it a "Punto Critico," and we worked on it continuously.  I lifted weights; I lifted my arm; I used the door pulley; I did all of my assigned exercises, but I wasn't making noticeable progress.  Even my sweet physical therapist in the US, Stacey, noted it.  Every few weeks when I see her, she measures my range of motion, and she notes, "Well... you are at 80 degrees, same as a month ago, but don't get discouraged, it takes 6 weeks to gain measurable muscle."  I didn't stress it; I just kept doing my exercises.

And then... two weeks ago...  I went to see the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Adelman, to review my MRI and talk about future plans.  We discussed all the metal in my arm skewing the MRI results; the potential to remove the hardware in the future, orthoscopic surgery to clean out scar tissue and look around, but overall, waiting until the year marker to reassess the situation.  All the doctors and therapists have told me the same thing, I have one year to make the greatest gains.  After that... things slow down... dramatically.

I told him my goal is to get my arm to 165 degrees.  I don't need a full 180, although I will bust my butt to get it.  He asked me to show him my progress.  I jumped off the table, gave my arm a stretch, and raised it.  It went up, and Up AND UP to about 130 degrees.  My jaw dropped.  I couldn't believe it, so I did it again, and it happened again.  With amazement, I explained my shock to Dr. Adelman.  He smiled and said, "Well, I think you'll meet your goal!"

For the rest of the day, and the days since, I have been lifting my arm just for fun and just because I can.  It is awesome.  That first day was hilarious.  We had tickets to tour the Boeing airplane factory with hundreds of other people, and I kept lifting my arm and yelling at Adam and the kids, "Look LOOK!!"  They immediately looked to the sky in anticipation of a Dreamliner or 747 on the horizon, and I kept yelling, "NO!  Look at my arm!!"  We were cracking up, and the people around us could not figure out what was going on.  They were equally perplexed looking at the empty sky.  Ja-Ha!!

Just this morning, I reached up to the cabinet above the refrigerator and grabbed a cutting board for the first time.  I couldn't stop smiling.  I grabbed a cutting board with my left hand!!  Party on shoulder!!  Party on!

A beautiful salute from Claudio, Sonja and
their spectacular family after I shared a video of
my joy and success with them!
Los extrano!

Adam Speaks... to the Kids

Caleb Antonio

Did you like the food in Argentina?

Adam - the empanada KING!

I loved the food.  I want to eat empanadas right now.

What was your favorite drink?

The wine in Argentina was great.  Stopping at the store on my way home from work to pick out wine for dinner was one of my favorite parts of the day.

What Spanish did you learn?

Yo entiendo mucho pero no hablo mucho.  

How did you learn Spanish?

Listening to Latino pop music and studying online.

Super Scary!

Were you scared when Mom got hit by a car?  Why or Why not?

Of course I was scared! We didn’t have many details on her condition for a few days, and that was really scary.

Carmela Rose

Daddy and his mule for the week

What was your favorite work trip that you took the last year when we were in Argentina?

When we took 12 horses and mules riding up steep rugged mountain terrain to 4000 meters of elevation for a week to find two new species of lizards that we haven’t even named yet.  

Why was that your favorite?

I liked traveling on four feet instead of two.

What was your least favorite part of the trip?

Being away from the family for those two weeks was tough. It was also a lot of boring driving to get to the mountains. Two days squished in the back of a truck isn’t much fun.

We noticed you doing a lot of writing. Approximately how many papers did you write?  How many words are each paper?  What was your favorite?  Why?

I wrote four papers by myself, a lot more with collaborators. Each paper is about 7000 words.  I don’t really have a favorite, but some of them did take a lot more work than others. I guess that the easy ones were my favorite.

New Species!
What will his name be???

What was your favorite lizard that you caught?  Why?  Where was it?

We found a new species in La Rioja that is all black with a white stripe down its back, and it looks really cool.  Our hard work to travel up to the top of the mountains paid off.  Finding that new species was a nice reward for all of our effort.

Sofia Josette – SoJo

What did you think of the food in Argentina?

I thought the food was really good.  I especially liked the meat and the Italian influence in all the food.

How much Spanish did you learn?

I learned a whole lot of Spanish, but I am not good at speaking Spanish. I was more serious about learning Spanish before Mom’s accident, but afterwards I was not as into it.

The kids found this lizard!

What are you going to do for your next sabbatical in seven years?

For my next sabbatical, I want to live abroad for a whole year again. I would like to go somewhere warm and on the beach.  I also don’t want to visit any hospitals, so Anne is going to have to stay off the streets and run on the beach or something.

What was your experience while Mom was in the hospital?

Thinking back to it all seems like a big blur.  I remember very quickly forgetting all about taking care of myself and focusing instantly on Anne.

What was your favorite part of Argentina?

It was easy living.  I loved the good food, all of the great people, and all of the whales and penguins on the beach.  

Back in Seattle - What the Kids' Think

SoJo

I am happy to be back in Seattle, but I really miss Argentina.  Now that we have moved back into our house, it feels like we never went to Argentina in the first place. Everything is back to normal except for Mom’s scar on her head.

As we unpacked and got settled, our house was like a zoo.  My room was a monkey’s cage.  It was super messy!  I found a broken wine glass in my closet; my curtains were stained; there was a rainbow of paint colors all over my desk; there were forks and spoons in the drawers and under the bed; there was a Native American Halloween costume on the floor, and a cigarette.  There were a few awesome things.  I found pennies and change all over the house.  I went on a scavenger hunt, and when I was done, I had a whole cup full of pennies!


A few days ago, Mom dropped a battery, and it rolled under her bed, so she looked under her bed for the battery.  She found more than the battery, so we took the bed apart to get under it and see what was down there.  We found a fork, a spoon, a lightsaber chopstick, dental floss, a mini tube of toothpaste, food coloring, two dirty socks, a nickel, and a pencil.  The most amazing thing that we found under the bed was a Nintendo DS that was still working!!  I do not want to give it back to the renters, but Mom says I have to.  Right now I am going to ask my mom if I can play on it.  She said no.  

Caleb Antonio 

The best part of coming back to Seattle is my friends.  Now we get to go to the pool a lot with Carey.  I went to a parade and played legos with Finn and Aiden and Nora.  I went to Clive’s mom and dad’s houses, and Clive made me a new deck of Pokemon cards and taught me how to play the game.  We do not need to go to school because it is summer.

The worst part was leaving Argentina.  I really miss my friends Simon, Salva, Tomy Semino and Leo.  They were my best friends.  We had a huge pretend family.  I was the kid.  Salva was my dad.  Simon was my brother.  Tomy was my uncle.  They were the best.

Carmela

Coming home was great of course, but it was also hard.  It was terrible to leave Argentina, and it was hard work to return.  The house was a mess!  It was like a tornado has spun through leaving stains, splotches, dirt, dust, and disorder.  The shower curtain alone told the story.  Don’t even start me going on the walls.  I might add that gum goes in the trash can when you are done with it. Basically the entire house was a mess. 

Once we settled in it was a lot better though.  I even got my own room back.  That was really nice because I was tired of sharing a room with SoJo and Caleb.  They seemed to love it though.  Caleb is still sleeping with SoJo in her bed. 

I am happy to have more music freedom too.  I have Dad’s old iPod Touch, and some speakers from his lab, so I can listen to all the music I want in my room and not have to turn it off.  In fact, I am listening to music right now!  Any music recommendations would be greatly appreciated. 

It was totally awesome to see my friends again.  It was like the weekend after a long week of school.  I have been spending a lot of time with some amazing people including Lila, Mandi, Grace, Sofia, and Nina.  I am telling you, they are awesome people!  I hope I can see all my friends again soon!

I know I am not going to see any of the kids from Argentina soon, but using WhatsApp, I am keeping in touch.  I do video calls, texting, and photos every chance I get.  I miss them, but there is still plenty of time to enjoy life and see them again.  

Here things are almost back to normal.  At least normal to the standards of an abnormal family.  For example, I went to mass on Sunday dressed as Madonna.  

Even in our normal life, there is still a small pain in the back of our heads because we miss the people and life in Argentina.  We love them and always will.  

I 💝 Argentina and Puerto Madryn.

Mom's Surgery

SoJo 

Mom’s surgery was very scary.  Before she went to the surgery, I was scared she was going to die.  That was the bad part.  The good part was her hospital food.  It was all good except for the custard.  The custard was super disgusting.  I think I liked the milkshake, the jello cubes, and the lemon drops the best.  Mom ordered a huge breakfast, but she didn’t want that much because she had been throwing up all night, so Carmela, Caleb, and I got to eat it all. Yeah!!

The Chain-Gang that was
starring at Mom.

One time Mom was walking to the store with me and Caleb, but when we got there we realized that she forgot her bandana because everyone was staring at her!  Once we left the store we saw what my mom and dad call a “Chain Gang.”  It is a bunch of preschool kids in a line attached to a rope. Some of them were crying, but when they saw Mom’s shaved head and scar they all turned and stared at her.  It was really funny.  Mom tried to take a picture of them, but by the time she got her phone out, they already started walking away.  Every once in a while they would turn around and stare.  

Caleb Antonio

At the parade with Finn, Aiden and Nora
while Dad picked up Mom.  

At the day of Mom's surgery when we dropped her off at the surgery, we got to meet one of her nurses.  The nurse was really nice.  

When Dad picked Mom up from the hospital, I was at a playdate with my friends, and after that one of my friends came over, and we got to see Mommy.  Mom’s scar is really awesome. 

I really want to fight Mommy. When we fight, we are wrestling in the living room on the rug.  It has been at least a year since we wrestled.  I bet I can beat Mom first.  My mommy thinks she is going to beat me, but it is not going to happen.

Carmela

Mom’s surgery was a trip to Disneyland.  At least at the end it was.  The beginning was more uptight.  Not as fun.  

When Mom was going into surgery, I wasn’t that scared.  I mean, what was there that I should be scared of, minus the fact that they were cutting open her head.  I figured that if the doctors in Argentina could do it, the doctors here should be able to as well.  I knew it most likely wouldn’t be worse, and if anything it would be better.  I guess I was mentally prepared for anything, even the bad.  I knew that the biggest problem we would have would be Mom herself after surgery.  

I was prepared to see Mom after her surgery, the big scar, the bandages, and the IV.  What surprised me most was how tired she was.  Last time in Buenos Aires, she had said she wanted to get up and out.  This time I guess she was more prepared.  She was super sleepy when we first saw her.  When we visited, we ordered more breakfast food.  When it came, Mom had a little bit, and we ate the rest of her lemon drops, milkshake, custard, Jello, crackers, and a lot more I don’t remember.  

Watching TV after we ate all Mom's breakfast!

While Mom slept, we watched TV. The only kids’show playing was Una Kitty, so we watched that, and left soon after.  The thing that scared me most was when we found out Mom’s temperature was a bit too high.  She was fine though.  When she got home, she was back to giving out homework and all of that.  We hoped she would forget about Mom homework, but she didn’t.  Oh well.  Without homework I never would have written this!  

Carinos a Todos, 

Carmela

Zombies, the Exorcist, and Brain Surgery....

Hoping Mom was pregnant...

Surgery day arrived, and I was ready to go.  No food, no water, no pasa nada.  I rolled into the hospital with the whole family, and we whooped it up as I stripped down and dressed in my wispy gown.  The kids were so excited when I took the mandatory preanesthesia pregnancy test.  They were all hoping for a positive result and twins.  Fortunately we dogged that bullet!  That would have been a hilarious complication.

Eventually the family got kicked out as the IV was started and blood samples were taken.  I was wheeled down to meet the anesthesiologist, Bobby, and we busted up laughing as he introduced me to the nurses, Hannah and Montana. No joke.  We were all cracking up, and ready to go.  Only problem was that no one could find the neurosurgeon, Dr. Lee.  The operating room was ready, the crew was ready, the piece was ready... but where was Dr. Lee?  Stuck in clinic.  By the time he showed up 45 minutes later, Bobby and I had bro-ed down and were comparing life stories.

Dr. Lee
I am pretty sure
he is not a Zombie.

Knowing Dr. Lee worked all morning and rushed over, I was thinking that he was not properly nourished to handle the 4 hours of surgery for which he had booked the room.  I asked if he had eaten, and he laughed, saying food wasn't important.  Dude, you better not be a zombie waiting to get into my skull and eat my brains.  He was more concerned about how to cut my hair.  I told him to go for a mohawk.

He disappeared and scrubbed up as Dr. Bobby wheeled me into the gigantic operating room.  With a smile, he told me to get myself onto the operating table, and within two minutes he and Hannah and Montana had me knocked out.

An hour and a half later, they were done, waking me up and preping for a CatScan.  The potential of four hours of surgery was minimized thanks to the incredible job the Buenos Aires surgeon did in leaving a synthetic film between the skin and the dura which kept the membranes from sticking together.  Lucky for me, it also meant that Dr. Lee never had to see my delicious brain.

43 sweet stitches.  One for every year of my life.  

As planned, I spent the next two nights in the hospital.  The first 12 hours were a vomit fest.  The zombies were out and the exorcist was in.  I am always amazed at how the body finds so much volume to spew without food or water intake.  It is impressive.  At three in the morning, I finally encountered a successful nausea medication, and the puking stopped.  From then on, I was all about enjoying the three hots and a cot.  Room service, breakfast in bed, the World Cup on the tele... it was good times.  I was even granted permission to wear my own clothes instead of the paper thin hospital sheet, when I convinced the nurses I would not try to escape.

On Saturday morning, Dr. Lee entered with a smile and discharge orders.  He gave me directions for getting the stitches removed, not showering, etc... and finally I asked, "Soooooo, when can I run again?"  The look on his face was priceless.

Still puffy and swollen, but hoping
that will pass soon.

He spun around and questioned, "Isn't that how you got in this mess in the first place, and you want to run again?  What about a sport with a helmet? Like biking?"

As a daily rider, I jumped on this, "Yes!  I love bike riding!  I ride to work; I ride to physical therapy; I ride everywhere; my bike is my car!  Yes!  When can I ride?"

His response was quick, "What? Don't ride your bike!  That is more dangerous than running!  Bike riding and horses are the worst.  Just because you have a helmet doesn't mean you are safe.  Stick to running, in the middle of a large group of people."

We'll see how long I can hold back my inner rabbit.  Less than a week out of surgery, and I am already bouncing out of my seat.  The good news is that I am encouraged to walk, and walk I do, up and down this town.

I am indescribably grateful for the prayers, love, food, playdates, and flowers.  Thank you.  And please keep praying.  If the incision gets infected or meningitis returns, the prosthetic piece has to be surgically removed followed by a long hospital stay filled with antibiotic cocktails, and I am back to square one.  Once in a lifetime was enough for that party!

Kid fun...

...and gorgeous treats!