And… we left Montana.
It has been an interesting year for us.
We moved out of Guangzhou, China and lived in Kalispell, Montana to give birth to our third child, Jeffrey Peter Jr. In the 12 months that we’ve lived there, Jeff got his temple recommend and got sealed to his parents in the Mormon temple in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. The small town of Cardston is only three hours away from Kalispell.
In between, I went to school at Flathead Valley Community College and took short courses on blogging, short stories, teaching for creativity, and American sign language. They have been personally enriching and helped me in improving this blog and in homeschooling the twins.
But Jeff and I both knew that Montana is not the place for us. We both know that professionally, he won’t be able to find a job that he loves in the state. My husband lived and worked in Asia for more than a decade, China specifically, and have grown to love their culture and food.
He has been Asianized, so to speak.
It was a challenge for him to assimilate back to American society. He was glad to drive again but it has been increasingly frustrating for him to stay in the US without practicing the profession that he enjoys so much. We are blessed to still have his work contract with a Chinese airline, a job that he can do anywhere in the world.
But the last year, I have been miserable.
I shared about my depression and my difficulty in managing a home with three children when I don’t even know how to iron clothes, and folding clothes is not exactly the image I had in mind when I decided to quit full time work to focus on raising my own family.
Yesterday, we bid goodbye to Jeff’s friends in the LDS ward he belonged to in Kalispell. He gave a heartfelt testimonial that had me crying because it made me feel so loved. Yes it was a difficult year but we had so many people who extended assistance and who made us feel that we are not alone.
I am not Mormon but I never felt different. Anita is a very important person in our lives. She kept our children company when I was admitted to the hospital for childbirth. She looked after our twins more than once so Jeff and I can go on date nights. They mean a lot to the social butterfly that is me who had very little social life while I was in Kalispell.
Bishop Ted Cahoon and Theresa of the Relief Society made sure we were physically and spiritually full. They were there for us when we were trying to make things work in America.
And then… there is Joe and there is Sheryl, who welcomed us with a home to live in. They’ve been generous and we can only utter a million thanks for all the support they have extended to our family.
I did not have friends in Kalispell until about 30 days ago. I only met the Filipinos a month ago and I regretted that. I’ve wrapped myself in a cocoon and shielded myself from making friends because I felt that there’s no point of making friends when we will just leave again.
But instead, in the one month that I have been with these Filipinas, I was showered with love and care. They extended the same amount of love and care to my children. They fed me all the time. Ate Lynn, who looks like the Filipino Chinese actress Kim Chiu, is a Rockstar. She’s full of enegy and was always friendly and helpful. Ate Edna loves my JJ and she has been my Bingo seatmate and we won twice!
I met a lot of older sisters in my final weeks in Montana. Generous Ate Evalour, Sexy Ate Delia, Sweet Ate Joy, Meek Ate Roslyn, Rowena from Biliran … and the Bisaya beauties Pelita and Glenda. Vanessa introduced me to these ladies when she invited me to join the Filipino Mother’s Day celebration last May. I also met Jessica there, whose life story was so inspiring that I had to interview her and write her story for Philippine Daily Inquirer.
I wish I could have spent more time with them.
But it’s time to go.
We will miss them but it’s time to go back to Asia.
The beach is waiting.
And the lechon.
