August 1. We left Turkey and arrived back in the U.S. exactly one year ago today.
Maybe it's because I made dolma this week for dinner. Or because I am coming to believe that Midwestern weather is a scam: if it's going to be hot and humid in the summer, then shouldn't it be pleasant in the winter? Or because life seems a little, well, ordinary, of late. But it's probably because my kids are driving me crazy, we're quarantined at home with pink eye, and I'm longing for another time.
Whatever the reason, I find myself this afternoon missing our life in Turkey, to the point that it hurts. A few of the things I miss:
- Lokum and pastries from Cigdem's on the Divan Yolu in Sultanahmet
- Turkish people--and their love of children (Have you ever seen a gang of teenage boys stop in their tracks to play peek-a-boo with a baby?!)
- David drinking ayran like there was no tomorrow
- The Wednesday ladies' market in Adana--especially after I found out I was pregnant with a girl--so much more stuff to buy for baby girls than boys! (Too bad everything I bought for Mary so far has been the wrong season . . .) But the best part was the drive there and back with friends. And the food.
- Yelis and her family!
- Sinan, more commonly known around the neighborhood as Ekrem (David still tries to wash the car with a broom.)
- Day trips to the Mediterranean, and the fact that it's very socially acceptable to dress very modestly at the beach
- Living in a small community (where most everything is within walking distance)
- The call to prayer
- Carpet shopping at Nuri's, especially with dinner ordered out from Red Onion--tava, borek, coban, humus, and flat bread (yum!)
- Two-hour church (Active Mormons attend church for 3 consecutive hours every Sunday. But, for logistical reasons, we were only able to have church for 2 hours on the base in Turkey. Call me a heretic, but I LOVED it!)
- Walking often in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul
- So many playgrounds, so close, with so many friends
- Living just one time zone from Western Europe (Imagine trips to Europe without the jet lag.)
- Crossing the Bosphorus on public ferries
- Elif Star Caves and summer evenings in Cappadoccia
- Friends, friends, friends! (From whom I learned so much, especially as I was figuring out this whole mom thing.)
A note to my friends in Turkey right now, counting down the days until they leave: I haven't forgotten that I was counting down too, and I haven't forgotten why. But today, trapped in my suburban house with two whiny kids climbing on me, I am indulging myself in the belief that it was a perfect, idyllic time. But based on the ache I feel inside right now, as I reflect on those two years, I am led to believe that it's not all indulgence--it was really was a special time in a remarkable place.
