DC Is Not an Illusion

We've gotten several emails and phone calls confirming our next posting in DC, but it wasn't until the 2" thick welcome packet arrived that I finally gave in to the joy of believing.  There were so many pamphlets and maps.  We unfolded each and every one.

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Noah is excited about my "map room" idea.  I want a room full of maps.  State maps, country maps... whatever.  As long as I can put a tack in it as a place I've been to, I'm good.  We have a couple we picked up here of Spain and Europe (which are in Spanish so I love them even more).

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Josh showed everyone where he'd be working and where we're looking for houses... the road he would take to work.  We pointed out parks and exciting places.  I think it's safe to say we're all pretty excited about our next destination now.  We have a few more trips to take in Spain.  A few more places I want to see before we leave.

Unfortunately we got some bad news yesterday that our landlord passed away a few months ago.  This was incredibly disheartening to us.  He was such a wonderful man.  We really wanted to thank him in person for being such a big part of this adventure in Spain.  We wanted him to see our pictures and see the improvements we did to the house for them.  We wanted to talk about history and politics with him.  We were really looking forward to seeing him and his wife again.

Every time we spoke with him he was so thrilled to hear we were enjoying his country.  I remember talking to him while he was vacationing on the beach about the World Cup and how he had waited a lifetime for Spain to finally win.  I'm glad he got to see it.  We knew he was sick, but he told us he was almost completely better and expected "his beach" in Galicia would cure the rest for him over the summer.  He ended our last conversation with "find as much joy as you can, don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today because when you find the time it's already passed.  BE HAPPY!"  I hope he got to go to his beach.  I know he lived his life to the fullest and was happy.  

I hope you all get a sense of the kind of person he was and why this is sad for us.  Our thoughts are with his family.  We hope to find a way to let them know how much his cheerful attitude and generosity meant to us during our 3 years here.
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