Today marks two weeks since we landed back in Austin. I want to write this to document our “re-entry” and then will follow up with my big post of reflections.

I’ll start with where I left off: our first day back in Austin. As soon as I turned off airplane mode upon touching down in Austin, I got a text from a recruiter asking me to interview the following week. I was excited about the role, and the narrative seemed too good to pass up. Could I really take over a year off and then come back and get a job within a week?

My dad picked us up from the airport and drove us back to my parents’ house, where my mom was waiting with a homemade cake. We still had a week until our tenants moved out so we stayed there while waiting for our house to be empty again. We lived with them back in 2020 while we were renovating our house, so staying with them feels familiar and comfortable. By the end of the week, I was wondering if we should make it permanent. My dad grows and cooks amazing food, my mom bakes something new each day, and they both are engaged grandparents to Millie. We got to sleep in without being woken up by a little person for the first time in over a year.

I spent most evenings of our first week locked in my mom’s office, trying to remember what I used to do for work and putting together a coherent portfolio presentation for my upcoming interview. I postponed some plans I had with friends so that I could get everything done, but we still managed to see lots of people. Our neighbors had a party to welcome us back. Nick’s friends all got together. Millie spent the afternoon at her beloved preschool one last time before she and all her little classmates move up to kindergarten. I hugged so many people.

On the day of my presentation and interviews I kicked everyone out of the house so that I could focus. By the end of the day I was happy that it was done, but unsure of how it went. A couple of hours later, I received an email letting me know that I didn’t get the job. After the initial sting of rejection subsided, I felt relieved to have more time to reflect on what I actually want. This job would have been fascinating and would have paid me well, but likely would have taken over my life. All year I’ve been reflecting on the fact that I want to invest in my friendships, family, and health—and yet within hours I was seriously considering jumping right into a big, all-consuming job. Had I learned nothing?

The next day, we began our move home. I had hoped to hire movers but since we didn’t know exactly when our tenants were moving out, we couldn’t schedule them. My mom spent the day with Millie while my dad, Nick, and I rented a Uhaul and moved all of our belongings from the storage unit back into our house. Other than almost killing my own father by having him carry our things in the heat, it was somewhat painless and we got it all done. Halfway through, we walked to the nearby Michelin starred BBQ restaurant for lunch. We sat, sweaty and sore, and had our brisket sandwiches and ice cold beers. This was the exact moment that I officially felt like I was home.

Moving is exhausting, but we were so happy to be moving back into our house that we had a ton of energy. Since we’re moving back into a place we’ve already lived in, it’s primarily mindless unpacking and putting things away rather than making decisions about how everything should be set up. The biggest change is that we’ve given Millie my old office and I’ll take over her smaller old bedroom as my new office. We got her a new bed and a desk. She’s been playing with all her old toys and rediscovering things, so every day has been like Christmas for her. She has been so happy.

We went to the giant new H-E-B grocery store and spent what remains of our savings on groceries. Having been gone for a year, we noticed not just the inflation but also the shrinkflation. I thought this was a silly newsroom term, but it turns out it’s real. So many of our favorite products are 80% of the size they were a year ago. I am so happy to be back cooking in our kitchen. I can’t imagine when I’ll feel excited to go to a restaurant again.

In between the unpacking, we’ve been seeing friends. Most of the kids are taller and many have missing and/or new teeth, but otherwise, it’s like no time has passed. People keep asking us “is it weird to be back?” and the weirdest part is how not weird it feels. Today, exactly two weeks in, is the day that it feels like we’ve officially snapped back into our old life. Our house is back to being exactly as we left it, our social calendar is filling up, and tomorrow Millie starts summer camp (our first non-family child care since the ill-fated Amsterdam art camp). I know we’ve changed, but it’s something so deep within us that I’m not even sure how yet. Stay tuned for my “one year home” post for those revelations.