Somewhere Over the Pacific

After much rending of clothes and gnashing of teeth (or gums for Jules), Mindy and I are on our way! For those of you who do not know, Mindy and I have broken free of the centrifugal force of familiarity and are migrating to New Zealand. Having been reared in “small-town America,” this move is no mere step – it is a gargantuan leap. We have left friends, family, jobs, and (most importantly) dogs. I grieve the damage caused in the wake of our leaving, but most have been very supportive (even if they didn’t understand).

I write this from somewhere over the Pacific on an Air New Zealand flight bound for Auckland. The last time we made this flight, we arrived as visitors on holiday (a/k/a vacation). This time we will arrive as immigrants starting our new life together in a foreign land. It is somehow less poetic than the arrival of immigrant-laden boats at Ellis Island, but it is something we can call our own.

My intent is to record our experiences on this page for our family, friends and others that may be interested. I hope that I am faithful to this project, but I have already suffered blog-anxiety – Is it good enough, interesting enough, relevant to anyone, and so on. I will try to write despite the voices in my head and let you be the judge.