Superficial Joy

I have been waiting for today for weeks: Pack-out Day, I call it. I coordinated and scheduled and hoped and prayed it would all come together and then expected it to fall apart. I'm so happy to report that I was wrong! It did NOT fall apart! The packing crew was scheduled weeks ago for today (Sunday, the 18th), and they called to confirm on Thursday (the last day of the Israeli work week) for 8ish a.m. on Sunday. That took care of the stuff that I am shipping, but what about the stuff no one bought and that isn't going back to Idaho with me? A coworker who has been in Israel 35+ years hooked me up with 

 Although I know without a doubt that leaving Israel now is the right thing to do, there is sadness in moving out of a place I've been for 3 years. In a grand paradox, the year I am leaving is the year I feel the most at home here. I no longer struggle to pump gas, ask for help or push my way to the front so I don't get left off the bus. I know how to get cash at the ATM, I know my neighbors and how to get to church each Sunday on the bus.  As I am writing this, I am on my final train trip hone from work. I have not felt super connected to a lot of my coworkers, but the bonds I did make are deep and strong. Two of my closest friends left last year. This year I made some new friends but the person that I walked through all three years with was Mark. I call him my teaching partner even though he taught a different grade. We started in the middle school the same year--the year of Covid. It was a terrible year made bearable by trudging through it with him.  The Israeli countryside