I promise the info you want is coming soon, but in the meantime here’s a Top 6 List to hold you over. We’re still numb but these are the things that are most surprising to us at the moment:

1. We can brush our teeth with tap water. We still get nervous and head for the trash can to chuck our toothbrushes whenever we run them under the tap. Are you sure there are no parasites in Atlanta’s water supply?

2. We need a car to go anywhere. Though the kids in our suburban haven are fond of driving golf carts to the swimming pool, they don’t provide rides to the grocery store. Where’s a tuktuk when you need one? Looks like I’m really going to have to buy another car soon (thanks for the loaner Sue!).

3. Old habits die hard. Even though we’ve been away for a year, we all slipped right back into our old, pre-trip behaviors. The little kids want the closet and bathroom lights on and a glass of lemonade at bedtime; the big ones want to stay up all night and play video games; I am a slave to tidiness, and Tom can’t ever seem to turn our closet light off.

4. Not all preschool kids are pickpockets. Tom went to Costco the other day and after he got over the shock of not having to barter for his purchases, a little boy bumped into him at the checkout. He quickly put his hands to his pockets to perform a wallet check then realized the child was interested not in his money but in the smoothie and churro that awaited him at the concession stand.

5. Our family could live in our master bedroom closet. We have a lot of space. Most people in the world make do with no more than Tom and I hang our clothes in, so we’re thinking we might need a change of venue. I’ve threatened our friends Paula and Mike that we might just sell the house and move into their guest room. It’s even bigger than our closet and it’s got a king-sized bed. Throw a mattress on the floor and the Six are in business.

6. We can’t commit...One week post trip and we still haven’t bought a car (blame all the people who have loaned us theirs), gotten cell phones (blame the wireless companies for their frightening contracts and dodgy coverage in our area), or hooked up our satellite (blame the road for disavowing us of any TV tendencies). We know eventually our denial will have to end, but for the moment we’re enjoying our limited connectivity and mobility.

(Dax says he’s in disbelief over the new Coke can, but I bumped that particular worry to number 7. Sorry Dax.)

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