Chapter 2

this post is made possible by Alix´s computer, somewhere east of Oslo
I´m eating my first clif bar in over a week, and Michael is not here to share it with me. This is the beginning of chapter 3.

What happened to chapter 2? Chapter 1?

Chapter 1 was the journey with Michael through Denmark and Germany; Chapter 2 is the trip from which we just returned.

This post is about Chapter 2.

We went to Svalbard and back, with 17 members of our family, and last night was the first time I saw darkness outside since before my family arrived in Europe (a week ago).

I feel like I have a lot to say in this post.




By no one´s standards can Granddad be called an extravagant man. He and Grandmom still live in the house that they bought when my dad was a boy, and they haven´t remodeled it once. Just 2 days ago, we were trying to convince him that it´s time to fill in their old and leaking pool, and maybe even build a new one - it was quite the uphill battle, because it´s just not his nature to spend money on himself.

Every summer, he assures us that he donates more money to charity than he spends on our annual family trips to places like China, Alaska and Norway.

It´s impossible to talk about Chapter 2 without talking about Granddad.

And it´s impossible to talk about Granddad without talking about his faith in Jesus.

And I realize that this could develop into a book, and it probably should. Right now, though, I think it´s wisest to bring this post to a close. There´s only so deep that you can go with these things.

Michael and I met up with the rest of our family in Denmark, and we traveled together to Svalbard. This morning I said goodbye to everyone in Oslo, and for the month of August, I´ll be in and around Norway alone. It´s going to be interesting.