Gracias, Nuevo Laredo.

Hello, I’m back.

The excuse I tell myself for not writing sooner is that we spent the last six months of our time at post fully present, and the last month on home leave decompressing and thinking about our next chapter (more about this later). Since I last wrote, I started and stopped working again, our son started preschool with our daughter, we visited Puerto Vallarta - our last vacation while in Mexico, we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas for the last time in Nuevo Laredo, we said a lot of farewells, we packed all our belongings in crates to be shipped to our next post, and we drove across the country to Georgia to be with my parents for home leave (a month-ish long period “to ensure that employees who live abroad for an extended period undergo reorientation and re-exposure in the United States on a regular basis”).

When we crossed the border into the U.S. for the last time, I was overwhelmed both with grief of leaving the community we built and relief of knowing the days of security concerns were behind me (for now, at least). It’s difficult to put into words the complexity of the border. What remains for me is how grateful I am to have had this experience.

A friend of mine told me one’s first post will always be special, so I’m including a few anecdotes from our 2+ years in Nuevo Laredo - ranging from the mundane to the significant - that I wish to remember forever.

• Our son’s love for avocados. One of his first baby foods and one of his first words.

• Chilaquiles. A traditional Mexican breakfast of corn tortilla chips softened in green or red salsa typically garnished with crema and queso fresco. Add chicken or steak and a fried egg for pure perfection. Are you a chilaquiles verde or chilaquiles rojo? I’ve been told you have to choose.

• My school moms Whatsapp chat. Though the learning curve for Spanish slang and abbreviations was steep, my quality of life improved having this community of women.

• My daughter’s bilingual ode to the quesadilla. I want a quesadillaaaaa. Que rico quesadillaaaaa… if you start singing it, you can’t stop.

• The Consulate pool. The year-round meeting place.

• The teachers at my childrens' school. What a pleasure it was to see their love for my kids and my kids' love for them. A respite for my over-worrying-mom-in-a-foreign-country self.

• The EFMs! We the best.

• The pomp and circumstance that surrounds every kids party. My favorite was the coordinated hip-hop dancing superheroes. Fuego.

Lastly, three how it started/ended photos that give me all the feels. Gracias, Nuevo Laredo.

First year of dance vs. Second year of dance

First Christmas

Last Christmas

First Christmas vs. Last Christmas

Jan 2021 vs Jan 2023