#20 Finding love. Falling in love.

Squeezing Grandparents, Uncles, Cousins and Friends. Hugs, kisses and more hugs... (we're very physical).

Recognize the sounds and smells of home. Running to smell and hear the Atlantic in the morning. Catching clams on the Costa da Caparica.

Espresso. Real bread. Green-skinned melon.

Conversations without screens in between. The smell of fish on the grill. Avencas beach. Fresh cheese. Dinner at Eduardo's. Duck park. Buying flowers at Cascais Market. Cod by any means. Planting the vegetable garden and picking up old leaves from the whole garden.

Going to Viplant to find a passion fruit. Snails. Bandida do Pomar by the pool. Ericeira.

Unhurried encounters of all kinds.

Walking around Valencia. Breakfast with orange juice from the fields, Arroz a la banda, Pepitos, and tapas of all kinds.

Ceramic gifts with a tree seal. Warm evenings without down jackets. Warm Mediterranean without waves, and with fish of all colors.

Bathing at sunset at Punta Negra and Segundo Montañar. Clothes stinging from the salty sea.

I don't feel like an emigrant, but I do feel a bit like one.

We've been making up for our homesickness with a board stuck to the fridge that shows Matias how many days there are until we get home. Every day he asks if we're going there today.

He's 4 years old and clearly knows the house we left on the other side of the world. When the grandparents go there and make video calls, the boy is euphoric, saying that it's "aliiiiii" that he wants to go!

We've reached the end of the school year and the beginning of summer simultaneously.

As Sérgio Godinho said, "This is the first day of the rest of your life..." And it was more or less in this mood that summer arrived.

The siblings feel accomplished, and they have totally disorganized routines. They have a thousand plans to enjoy the weeks before we return to Portugal.

From the famous Junior Lifeguards, where the sisters worked so hard to get in with their swimming times, to summer book challenges, doctor's appointments, Maria's investment of all the money she earned babysitting in an online Algebra course (so she can enter next year at the most advanced level of math - geek! ), my classes at the University's intensive summer course, which was as exhausting as it was rewarding, a ninja boy on the loose to entertain without resorting to grandparents, and an endless number of plans that we're writing down in various notebooks.

California really is an incredible place, but in summer, it's even more incredible than usual. And we lived these weeks in a "make the most of it" frenzy.

So, without much preparation, we had a girls' night out in Huntington Beach, and I swear we didn't talk about anything to do with biomechanics. My cocktail was Peach Paradise, and I returned home with the feeling of normality that these programs provide. Because modesty aside, I have a really good shot at friends, and I miss my friends so much; this program with dear girls helped a little. Not to ease my homesickness... but to soothe my heart by meeting friends on this side.

Women's alliances are vital in a person's life.

Then, with the Bulgarian thugs Luis and Gerry, we lined up schedules and went to Balboa Beach on the day that all of California remembered to go to.

It was hard to get there, but even harder to get out of that paradise. But it was worth the odyssey. My top list of beaches is now all messed up.

As my children have been true ambassadors, our network of contacts is more extensive than ever. The generosity of the locals in integrating us into beautiful programs continues to amaze us.

One of Maria's friends has a family with a crush on Portuguese culture and food. On one of the hottest days since we arrived here, they invited us to another Portuguese community in the area for an annual soup festival. When we arrived, it smelled wonderful, and despite the heat, we all started salivating.

Meat and beans, poncha, bread, and I was so thirsty that I drank three glasses of beer in a row! But there was no water, and you have to be able to adapt to adversity. It was the best (and only!) beer and feijoada with 30 degrees to spare that we've ever had. And then there was dancing, raffles, and bifanas with sausage. Total madness.

One of our neighbors got some tickets to the Happiest Place on Earth, and uncles Pepi and Lucía concentrated all their nephews' birthday presents into one day and took them to Disney. Their reactions were priceless, and they've already made it known that it can be the same present every year. I absolutely agree.

From 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. of intense magic, and the next day, the whole body of the 5 of us aching was magical too!

After a few days of rest and the following week, the girls finally started the Junior Lifeguards program, which is a mixture of Baywatch and military training. They come home daily with stories to tell, a sea vocabulary we didn't know, and a lot to overcome.

Pier jumps, boat drops, swims and surfs of all kinds, new friends, lots of sunscreens, salt, sand and "war" wounds, fins, string rays, first aid on the tip of the tongue, and marine biology. Every day, there are stories of how scary it is, but they always end up saying, of course, it's super cool, of course, we love it, of course, we want to go back tomorrow! And they come home in a huff, asking for a nap.

In the meantime, Kingston turned 5, and by surprise, he took Matias to an all-boys program to enjoy the Cars magic and so on... When they realized where they were, it was a thrill. What a privilege.... Thank you, Elaine and Janet. Another day to remember...

The children's mothers were filled with envy and grief at the boys' absence all day and were preparing for the next day's big party.

When they returned, we cried with laughter at the description of the poses in the photos and at the attention the professional photographers paid to our boys. They looked like a happy family of two fathers with two children, one with an Asian look and the other with a California look, spending the day at Disney. That's much more logical and easier than explaining that they were two different families, each with their own big set of children and whose wives had given up having fun together so that the boys, who adore each other, could have a girls-free moment.

Tired but very ready for another BBQ and pool party, our dear Kingston celebrated his 5th birthday surrounded by treats, and we loved celebrating with him. BBQ and pool parties are a must.

On the eve of the Fourth of July, we went to the military base in the area to watch the fireworks. They were indeed the best we've seen outside Valencia. There was a very lively atmosphere, breathtaking vehicles, especially for the motor freak in the house, and an evening very well spent.

On the Fourth of July itself, we were included in the family celebrations at Pamela's house. There was a delicious BBQ and other snacks, the best socializing, and an arsenal prepared to give us an idea of the traditions of setting off fireworks in the backyard.

The fires seem to be an analogy to the battle that gave them their freedom. Between the bangs and the light, I think the analogy was very successful, and we came home feeling lucky to have been adopted for these celebrations in the homes of people we didn't know a year ago and now call friends.

Without slowing down at the weekend, we had another invitation to Swifty Zoe's party. Since children get on well and parents even better, off we went to a pool party with a super cool atmosphere, glitter, music, and pinatas. We loved the invitation, and the children fell asleep at the first corner.

At the end of our stay and despite all the logistics to deal with getting to and from this spot with the 3 new schools for the 3 ninjas, all the deadlines that happen at the end of an academic year, the perspective of plans in the 3 weeks of break, the management of luggage and more luggage to prepare, the adaptation of our Mel to Amina's grandparents' house where she has the privilege of staying during our summer, saying goodbye to our beloved paw, etc? We balanced it out with programs with the former strangers and now our incredible network of dear friends on this side.

It was a very intense but good end to this first year.

To complete the Family's adventures, this weekend, after a trip to the beach and a first at the nail spa (thanks to Elaine, who spoils my children with pampering that they love), we returned home and were peacefully in the jacuzzi when Maria arrived distressed to say that her sister was stuck in the elevator.

I think the effect of adrenaline is underestimated... After this year, I'm afraid that if we happen to slow down, we'll still have an adrenaline hangover. Of course, we hadn't yet had the experience of calling 911, but after all the failed attempts to get our princess out through the gap in the elevator, we called them, and they arrived in a flash!

When Matias saw the apparatus coming, his pupils even dilated! "Mamiiii, mega fire-truck! A real one! Hugeeeee!!!" all happy!

The super-fast and friendly firemen, the neighbor who wouldn't leave Cuca alone until we arrived, the wet but firm siblings, plus us trying to keep Cuca from despairing through the gully, but the minutes seemed eternal until the gentlemen arrived. Adrenaline on fire! After 2 or 3 attempts, they finally managed to give us back our middle daughter, who was the shyest and the only one who can now say that she was saved by a very handsome group of firemen who treated her like a true maiden. The adrenaline gave us all a deep night's sleep! Blessed adrenaline!

Thanks once again to all the people we met and the situations we've experienced—the wonderful ones, the hard ones, the sour ones, the sweet ones, the tough ones, and the ones we overcame. We are so grateful for all of them. What an adventure...

During the final preparations, we said goodbye to our Mel, had dinner with our friends who had made our lives easier so many times during this year, distracted the children who didn't want to be separated from our Paw family, and closed our luggage. We soon received reports from the “Grandpas” who were taking care of her. Thank you...

Our expanded "framily" made themselves available to accompany us to LAX, bringing their favorite bestie, treats for our ninja, and delicious supplies to take around the world. Friends really are the family we choose. What a great shot we had...

We're counting the minutes until we return to our original nest.

But when we move away in this way, we gain a perspective that seems to provide encounters of love. The love with which we have been welcomed in and around Seal Beach and on all fronts is immense and overwhelming. What a privilege.

This distance also allows us to fall in love with what we left behind and where we now miss so much. What a privilege...

I saw this phrase somewhere about those who move around the world, and it's really true.

When you travel you find love... and you fall in love for what you left behind.

See you in a bit, Parede.

See you soon, Seal Beach.