so long for now

Our on-again, off-again houseguest left today for Mozambique after a five month stint with us and the four of us got up before 7 this morning to see him off. Jordan does contract work overseas and — for the past three years — whenever he’s home, he’s here. The longest stretch was seven months last year.

This time around his stay felt… weirder? Heavier? He came home to the States for what was supposed to be a quick two-week trip at the end of March and then could not return to Maputo because of the pandemic. He arrived at our house in Seattle when I was on day 7 of Covid myself. His arrival, though it was a risk to him, was so timely. His help when I was sick (documented here) was really meaningful to us and we made sure to remind him of that last night during our more lengthy goodbyes. Anyhow, a few months after I had recovered, we marched together a few times for Black Lives and this past week, we’ve been busy troubleshooting the air filter and brought “cooped up” to a whole new level with these wildfires.

But we also had skateboarding and camping and kiteboarding, Thursday pancakes, purple hair, ice cream, Westport and Hood River.

So long, friend! We’ll keep your ping pong paddle warm and your room ready for ya. We’ll totally try not to turn it into a Covid quarantine room again.