Eric Suddoth's Blog, page 14

In the Dark

Check out this blog on my new podcast on Anchor or Spotify.

https://anchor.fm/eric-suddoth5/episodes/In-the-Dark-e1b0t48

Do you ever feel like you’re sitting in a dark room? Lost and confused? Like you can’t even see your own hand in front of your face.

I think dreamers feel like this a lot.

You have an idea. You have a passion. You have an end game brewing.

But going from that idea to the actual process of getting there is many times frustrating and discouraging. Like sitting in a dark room.

I love to dream. I have always been one to dream up ideas whether it be stories, songs, plays, mission projects or even inventions.

It may sound ridiculous, but many years ago I came up with an idea of combining a flea bomb can with disinfectants and call it a flu-bomb. I thought it could be something schools could use when flu season starts to spread and go haywire. At the end of the day the teacher would take out a can, shake it, place the can in the middle of the room, pull the tab and then walk out. Then by the next morning all the germs in the room would be dead.

I came up with an idea, but I never did anything with because I thought people would think it was stupid or idiotic, I didn’t know the science behind it or even if it was possible to do. So I never did anything but kept it bottled in that dark room.

The funny thing is, I just googled my idea and there are companies that are doing this. I never heard of it 20 years ago, but this was an idea I had but I never did anything with. Who knows where I would be if I had taken a step forward?

The interesting thing about new ideas is that they always sound ridiculous when they are first dreamed up.

Think of the iPad. I remember someone saying, “It will never work. It’s just a big iPhone that can’t even make calls. Just a fancy, overpriced notepad.” Look at it now.

Or think of the Wright brothers airplane. “You’re crazy to think that will fly.” And then consider the space shuttles shooting up into orbit with their large metal frames that weight many tons. Crazy.

It could be something as simple as taking an egg from a chicken and cracking it open only to find that if cooked it is delicious. But can you imagine the other person watching someone take an object that just came out of a chicken and eating what’s inside it. They might have thought, “Gross.”

But that is the incredible thing about firsts. They always seem weird, strange, scary, unheard of, impossible…until…until you do it.

Without dreamers in this world we would never have anything we do have. We would still be living in caves or under trees for shelter. We would still be eating whatever we can find lying on the ground. We would still be walking everywhere we go. We would probably still be living in Mesopotamia.

Without someone doing the first of its kind, we would still be where they were.

A few years ago I had a visual thought. I saw a long line of dominos standing up. Each domino was lined perfectly behind the other. We all know what will happen if you knock over the first domino, it will topple over and knock into the next one and then that one will topple over into the next one. But there would not be any ripple effects if the first domino never fell over. The 100th domino would still be standing if the 99th never fell.

What if your life is like a line of dominos? Are you going to take that chance of following the long line of dominos to see where it leads. Or are you going to remain standing, to afraid to take a chance and fall in faith.

But the thing is, you are just one domino. What if your actions affects someone else? What if we are all in a long line of dominos and your decision to not move causes another person to not move. And no domino will ever get to experience the thrill of the fall.

But just consider, what if you take a chance? What if you lean over and fall? What if you allow yourself the freedom to topple over? What if your one action causes another person to sway? What if your momentum causes another person to take a leap of faith? What if your act of obedience causes another to follow?

You could be a revolutionary. You could be the beginning of a new Renaissance. You could be the change the world was needing. You could be the vessel God uses to bring hope to a hopeless world.

Anything is possible. So, come dream with me a little. Come sit in the dark. Come and let your mind drift. Come and see where it takes you.

Who knows, you may soon realize you’re not sitting in the dark anymore. You may see a spark leading you to your next step in this incredible journey.

So, this goes out to the dreamers out there:

What are some ideas you have had, but never did anything with?

Are you tired of just letting them sit in a dark room collecting dust?

Is it time to try to find that spark?

Just sit and dream for a while. It is always the darkest before the dawn.

But when you see the rising sun, it’s time to walk toward the light. It may be scary to take that first step, but you’ll be walking down a path that all other dreamers have walked down before. And it could become the greatest adventure of your life.

So, are you ready for it?

Peace

If you want some more encouragement check out my book on Amazon

Dream Chasers: A Journey of Faith

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W125W8J/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdo_RSRWFZSGQVRDNK32W68C

Started a Podcast – Episode 1

You can listen to my latest blog post – It Came upon a Midnight Clear on Anchor or Spotify. We shall see how this goes.

https://anchor.fm/eric-suddoth5/episodes/It-Came-upon-a-Midnight-Clear-e1asjmk

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Fshow%2F3C4qjrIJ3XrKaFI34uShDp&data=04%7C01%7C%7Caeb890bb9488491ac65608d9b152251d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637735788629417782%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=vy%2FmCYyM7%2BR7B3vSgkV%2BNWJ%2B5uwcgW6Ujs50AGONZgU%3D&reserved=0

Peace

It Came upon a Midnight Clear

A few weeks ago I released my latest book, Unwrap. It is a collection of thoughts on a lyrical line in some of the most beloved Christmas hymns. If this doesn’t make sense to you, here is one of the chapters. After writing some of the chapters, I wondered if anyone would get it or feel encouraged reading it. This chapter was one that a reader said was one of their favorites. So, here you go. I hope you find some inspiration in this beautiful hymn and my favorite line.

There is so much beauty in a cloudless night. In summer evenings I love to lie in my driveway and look up at the stars. I sometimes wish I knew more of what I was looking at, but I can at least pick out the two Dippers. But not knowing the stars’ names or which twinkling lights make up the constellations doesn’t minimize the beauty. You don’t have to understand something to lie in amazement of it.

That is the astonishment of beautiful things; an art historian and a punk teenager can both look at a statue carved by Michelangelo and stand in awe of its beauty. Beauty draws us all in no matter where we are from. It is the great equalizer.

There is so much in this world that is ugly. Not just an ugliness in physical appearance, but in shock value, rudeness, egotism, hatred, and division. However, there is a sweet feeling to breathe a sigh of relief and forget about the drama that seems to ebb its way into our hearts. Some of the best memories at Christmas time are those quiet nights after the television has been turned off and the only things on are the lights from the Christmas tree giving off their beautiful glow. It’s in those quiet moments that my heart breathes a sigh of relief. It may not be flashy or showy, but these are the beautiful moments in life to sit before the lights and feel a sense of peace.

There is so much beauty in the feeling of peace. I wonder if that is why I feel a longing to stare up at the black sky and gaze upon the heavenly lights to find that feeling of peace that eludes me through the day. To look up at the great expanse above that stretches from east to west as far as I can see. It is in those moments of solitude that I feel humbled. When life is going haywire and I start to focus all my time and energy on myself, it is easy to get sucked into that whirlpool of only looking at myself. Watching my own back. Making sure I have what I need. Deciding what is best for me.

But when I lie under the stars, I realize I am not the center of everything. I am not the sun. And then as I stare up at the heavens a little longer I remember the sun isn’t in the middle of everything. It is only in the middle of our little solar system, which is a dot in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is an even tinier dot in the entire universe.

We may think that without us life would cease to exist, but the only thing that is going to stop existing once we are gone is ourselves. The world is going to keep going. Our loved ones may grieve for a period, but their lives will continue. It may not continue the way they like, but the world will not come to a halt when we take our last breath. All the tragedies in the world that have come before never caused the world to stop. It may have rattled people to their core, but the world kept spinning.

An old Christmas carol that I don’t hear too often, “It Came upon the Midnight Clear”, has a stunningly beautiful line that we all need to hear:

“O rest beside the weary road”

You may wonder why we are singing about a weary road in a Christmas carol, but I think this line is pertinent because we all have weary roads. There are days that are ugly with rude customers, backstabbing co-workers, hateful clients, disgruntled employers, back-talking kids, and sudden heartbreaks. It is easy to want to run and hide away on days of walking the weary road. You may have been walking a weary road for days or weeks or maybe even years. I am deeply sorry for the road you have walked.

I am an optimist. I try my hardest to spin any lemon in life into a glass of sugary lemonade. I try to squeeze the storm clouds and pop out a rainbow. I try to see every coin toss as a positive.

But sometimes it is okay to just take a break and rest. Some of my favorite stories in the Bible are when Jesus was consoling those who were hurting. He didn’t brush away their pain with a fake smile. He didn’t douse them with a bottle of good tidings and push them on their way. He didn’t pretend there wasn’t any ugliness in the world.

In fact, I think Jesus saw the ugliness of the world much clearer than anyone else. He heard the words said to women in the marketplace. He witnessed the downcast looks of the lepers begging for a touch. He saw the arrogant noses turn a blind eye to the poor and needy. He came face to face with those clinging to their last thread.

But He also knew what no one else knew. He knew the hearts of everyone around Him. He knew the thoughts of doubt that followed Him as they were mixed among the faithful crowd. Yet He also knew the motives in the crowds’ actions in their needs for selfish prayers answered. He read the minds of backstabbers and so-called friends. He foresaw the outcomes that the deniers didn’t want to see. He saw the ugliness in each man and woman’s heart. He saw the corrosion of sin that was covered with perfumed robes. He knew the darkness that feasted upon every man’s heart.

And He still knows.

And He still doesn’t pass over our weary roads like a crosswalk. No, He stops and rests beside us. He offers us His hand to hold and His shoulder to lean on. He doesn’t give up when the going gets tough, and He never abandons us when all our friends have scurried away. He doesn’t point out our flaws, but touches our wounds mercifully and shows us a new direction. But He doesn’t force us to move. He doesn’t push us from the nest. He doesn’t belittle the baby steps of faith. He meets us where we are and waits.

Your weary road may be at the bottom of a bottle. He’s not judging your drunken stupor. Your weary road may be in the arms of another lover. He’s not judging your loveless actions. Your weary road may be with a line of white powder. He’s not judging your misguided outlet. Your weary road may be a cutting razor blade. He’s not judging your need for a relief. Your weary road may be restless nights in bed. He’s not judging your self-torment.

Even though those weary roads are destructive, He still finds you where you are. God roams the halls of every prison just as He roams the halls of my prisoner’s heart. There is no place that His light cannot shine. You may not see His light shining, but it is. It may just be a flicker, a flint, a tiny spark, but His light is too powerful to be extinguished. Nothing can separate you from His light.

We all have a weary road. But you don’t have to walk it alone. Put down that bottle. Get out of that bed. Flush away those drugs. Bandage up your arm. Look in the mirror and see a ray of hope. If you don’t see it, ask someone who can point it out to you. Then ask another. And another. And another.

Fan that flame until you can see it.

But if you are tired, just rest for a while. And then try tomorrow. There is nothing wrong with resting. It’s only wrong when you give up. Resting is not giving up. Resting is gearing up to fight another day.

So take a deep breath. And then take another. And then take another. It doesn’t matter how many deep breaths you take as long as it leads you closer to taking another step.

And when you are ready, you don’t have to walk the weary road alone. Life is about finding a hand to hold in the hard moments. It is about locking elbows with another to spur one another on. It is about grabbing a shoulder when you need a crutch. It is about whispering hopeful words into one another’s ears when the weary road looks too hard.

Because the weary road isn’t that hard. It is just like all the other roads.

But one of the best things about the weary roads is those are the roads where you can feel Jesus walking beside you the most. It is not that He doesn’t walk beside you on all the other roads, but we tend to ignore His presence in the straight paths, the beachfront walkways, the cozy sidewalks, and the landscaped driveways because we don’t feel like we need to lean on His eternal strength when life is going well. He is still walking beside us on those journeys, but sadly, we miss His touch because we are not reaching out for it.

But when we walk on the gravel roads that may trip us, we reach out for help. Those are the moments that we feel Him closest because we take our eyes off of ourselves and look toward Him.

I have a love-hate relationship with the weary roads. I hate them when life is going lovely. I hate the feeling of being pressed and broken. But sometimes we have to be broken to be made better than ever. I hate the feeling of brokenness, but I love to feel His touch when He’s mending. I may hate the weary roads when I’m walking through them, but my history of weary roads is one I would never want to erase. It’s in those low paths that I felt His love and mercy the most. It’s in those weary roads when I felt His rest. It’s in those deserted roads that I finally knew I wasn’t deserted because He was with me. He was always with me.

May we learn to feel His touch this Christmas season when we see the beauty. But if you are seeing the ugliness, reach out. He’s there.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8 NIV

God,

     Walk with me on the weary and not-so-weary roads. Amen

If you enjoyed this chapter, check out the others on Amazon.

Thanksgiving with Booster Side Effects

My parents received their booster shot a couple of weeks ago and have been questioning me about getting mine. I know I needed to plan my shot wisely because the last two COVID shots did not go well for me.

I keep thinking,

My body is finely tuned, like a microchip, and the flu is like a grain of sand. It could literally shut down the entire system.

Chris Traeger, Parks and Recreation

I try to exercise. Take vitamins. Drink plenty of water. Stay away from alcohol and tobacco. Get rest and sleep.

But when I get sick…I feel it for days if not weeks. My co-workers can attest that I get the man flu every tax season, which seems very sexist. But I can’t disagree. I get my sappy self of wallowing in look at me and give me some sympathy. Because I need it. It may not make me better, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

So, last week they opened the booster shot for anyone over 18 years old so I planned to get it Wednesday morning so I could sleep late on Thursday and relax all day.

In honor of Chris Traeger, that is literally what I did all day.

I tossed and turned restlessly last night with slight body aches and chills. Nothing as earth shattering as last time, but still I woke up around 4am and couldn’t fall back to sleep. Until I fell back to sleep at 8am. (Where’s your sympathetic words?)

Woke up and pigged out on thanksgiving food and then immediately napped again.

Not the best Thanksgiving, but I was still around my family.

I mean, if I didn’t like my family I could have used my booster shot as an excuse to get out of seeing them. I wonder if more people will do that at Christmas time.

Sorry Mom, I can’t come to Christmas dinner with crazy Uncle Larry and touchy-feely Aunt Darlene and their menacing kids that pick their nose and then touch all the sugar cookies. I scheduled my booster shot for December 23th. Tell them…well, them whatever you want, but I won’t be there.

Yes, I can see this being a trend going forward to get out of things people don’t want to do. No more, my grandmother died – even she has died 9 times by now. Now it’s, “I got the shot.”

Who could negate that?

So, yeah, today was a little different, but oh well, tomorrow I will either feel better or have another few days to binge watch Seinfeld.

I will most likely be watching Seinfeld either way.

Peace and Happy Thanksgiving!

And if I invite you to something and use the shot as an excuse out of it, I will be asking to see your CDC card.

Really I will.

Do You Ever Feel Like a Failure?

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. A day to reflect on things in which to be thankful. I have many reasons for my gratitude. But if I’m honest, there are moments of the opposite. When the grandeur things in life seem invincible and all that’s left is boxes of unsold books in my closet.

I usually don’t dwell on the fact that my books are not topping the charts, that my blogs are not changing the world, that my name isn’t plastered all over social media. My posts are simply to encourage myself to keep on going.

Today my mom sent me a message. Out of the blue.

It was a video about how a man used his childhood trauma to now become a household name. It told of grief, heartache, poverty, crime and rejection. Countless rejection letters. He vowed to never write again. His wife begged him to send his finished novel again to publishers.

It’s reported he was rejected 30 times for this book that has now been read millions of times and turned into plays and movies. If he hadn’t listened to his wife, we would not have “Carrie” or the other works by Stephen King.

I’ve heard this story before and started looking through other now famous published authors and their rejection list.

Chicken Soup for the Soul – 144 rejections

The Help – 60 rejections

James Patterson first book – 31 rejections

A Time to Kill – 28 rejections

A Wrinkle in Time – 26 rejections

Dune – 23 rejections

Catch-22 – 22 rejections

Lord of the Flies – 21 rejections

If you’re feeling deflated about yourself, wondering when your next break, next job, next relationship, next move is going to happen…now is not the time to quit.

What if they quit after 20 rejections? We wouldn’t have any of these books or movies. (Yeah they must not have been too bad because many of these became mega Hollywood hits.)

So, if you’re feeling like a failure…it’s okay. Everyone is a failure before they succeed.

But you can’t succeed if you don’t ever try.

So this Thanksgiving wrap your failures in a bear hug, smother your fallen stars with kisses, embrace the heartache of yesterdays. Who knows, you may be the next Stephen King to encourage the next generation of crash-and-burn dreamers.

You can either wallow in the ashes or rise from them.

Let’s rise.

Happy Thanksgiving and God bless!

Peace

A Weekend Getaway – YL

I was really excited about this weekend trip with a few of my YoungLife guys. YoungLife in our area usually has a fall weekend camp and a weeklong summer camp. We didn’t have a fall camp last year due to COVID and I couldn’t go to the summer camp due to work. So I was really looking forward to what was in store for this weekend.

It’s not about the production or program by “Tina and Tony” and their funny antics. It’s not about the paintball or ziplining. It’s not about the great music and dance party atmosphere. It’s not even about the great food or warm beds.

It’s about time with these guys.

We each only have 24 hours in a day. We each only have limited amount of time to make wise decisions that will impact our future. We each only have one life to get a personal relationship with Christ.

A relationship that is more than a golden ticket to heaven, but a bond that is tighter and more secure than the strongest of harnesses and safety ties.

I love to do things. I love to travel. I love to experience new adventures and do things that are not the normal day to day. YoungLife is great about doing the things that causes smiles and hearts to beat faster.

But the thing I love most about weekends like this, are the cabin times. Where we dig into each other’s lives and show love and grace. Where we ask the deep questions, show our vulnerability, peel off a layer of ourselves to be transparent with one another.

It’s in the drive to and from camp where you sing along with one another. Tell jokes. Catch up. Pig out on junk food and just enjoy each other’s company.

It’s about the staying up to 1am talking or trying to scare me (which a couple of them did throughout the weekend). Talking about nothing in particular, but just friends hanging out.

More teenagers need to experience weekends like this. Many adults need to as well.

A time when you can reflect for 15 minutes in total silence. A time when you can hear the gospel message in a unique way. A time when you are cut off from the outside world and can just be renewed or refreshed.

I’m not sure if any of the guys were changed this weekend, but it seems that every time I spend some time with them during these weekends or weeks I come back a little changed.

Thanks guys for the laughs and good times.

Peace in Christ

Corn meal and flour…not good in the eyesCharge

Cream and Dreams

Living life is better while living with a dream. Dreams bring joy in a sometimes dull world. They cause your heart to race and your mind to wonder. Dreams are more than wishes upon a distant star, they are sometimes as close as our next breath.

Letting your mind wander is a wonderful feeling. That feeling where anything is possible. That sensation when any obstacle is achievable. That sense that it is going to be accomplished.

Over the last few years I have had the privilege of meeting with other dreamers. Dreamers are all around. They can be your friends, relatives, coworkers or barista at your local coffee shop.

One dreamer near to my heart is my niece, Leah.

She is a dreamer in the cooking world. She plays around with ingredients, mixing flavors like an artist with colors. She experiments with new techniques and shares her passion and bakes with her friends and family.

She is young, but she is driven.

There are many types of dreamers.

There are dreamers who only dream. And then there are dreamers that do.

Leah is a dreamer who is doing. And I couldn’t be more proud.

So where do you find yourself?

Are you a dreamer or not? If you’re a dreamer, are you pondering or are you doing?

There is nothing wrong with planning, but eventually you need to start stirring your dreams, mixing them with the real world, spicing them up with new adventures, seasoning them with new acquaintances, and enjoying the fruits of your dreams.

Keep stirring, Leah. Keep it up. The world is sweeter because you are sharing your gift.

If you are around the central Indiana area and are needing some custom desserts, look her up.

Peace

Follow her Instagram to see her creations

https://instagram.com/leebaebakes?utm_medium=copy_link

Thanksgiving – Doesn’t Matter the Day

From Venice in August

Thanksgiving is in two weeks, but for us, it was today. A few people are going to be leaving Thanksgiving weekend for a trip, others have to work next weekend or be out of town. So Thanksgiving was today at lunch at Cracker Barrel.

I don’t need a big, home cooked meal. I don’t need an expensive fancy meal. I would be fine with peanut butter and jelly for a thanksgiving meals, because the important thing about thanksgiving isn’t the turkey, the football, the brown Thursday shopping.

It’s the people you are with.

It’s the family you love despite bickering. It’s the friends you call family despite the annoying quirks. Blood doesn’t equate to family. Family can be anyone you call your family.

I am blessed to have a family I enjoy spending time with. Whether it’s a quick meal at Cracker Barrel or a weeklong trip to Italy, family is about spending time. Not money.

It seems we have lost the importance of family time and misplaced it with material possessions, costly priced memories, and flashy tokens of appreciation.

Family vacations are great, but trips to Disney or beach getaways while glued to your phone watching other people’s Facebook post while ignoring your kids building a sandcastle or first ride on Dumbo is not what it’s about.

You can take another beach vacation, but you can never get back that time you lost.

So this Thanksgiving while you are gathering or not, try to appreciate the burnt macaroni and cheese, the dry to the bone turkey, the unsweetened sweet tea and annoying quirks (because you also have some). One day you’ll miss them and it may be too late to appreciate it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Peace

On another note, I released my latest book this week, Unwrap. If you enjoy these blogs, you may enjoy this book. It’s my thoughts on overlooked lines in the Christmas Carols and examine them with a new lens of hope and grace.

Unwrap

Last November I would take my family out for supper to get my parents out of the house during COVID. We would drive to neighboring towns and sit in their parking lot and eat our supper and just enjoy each other’s company. Then on the way home I would usually listen to Christmas music.

As I was driving home from Owensboro one night a line from O Holy Night hit me. I had sung this song many times before, but suddenly the line resonated like it had never done before.

So I quickly came home and sent out a simple blog. One reader responded very favorably. So I thought about writing another blog post about another line from a Christmas hymn. That blog also caused a favorable response.

Thus the idea for Unwrap was conceived.

I love Christmas music. I listen to it at work, in the car and around the home. There is something comforting about these Christmas hymns and the season surrounding these beautiful songs.

So one night I pulled out a couple of hymnals on my piano and started flipping through the Christmas hymns and reading the songs without a melody but just reading them for their lyrical content. I soon saw that many Christmas hymns contained more than the story of Christ birth, but they tell of grace, mercy, hope, love and the story of salvation.

These Christmas hymns are more than singing about a newborn baby, but singing of the Savior of the world – a Savior that came to earth to dwell with us. To go through the lows of life with us. To heal our wounds. To fight our battles. To befriend the lonely. To feed the needy.

The more I read these hymns the more I was seeing the beauty of Christ and His sacrifice.

The more I dug into these words and tuned out their melodies the more I discovered the greatness of who He was.

So, I hope if you take the time to read this book you will see the symbolism of Unwrap. I hope you unwrap, dig into, explore, rediscover, examine these hymns with a new perspective. Don’t look at these hymns like you did last year, but see them as beautiful tellings of the gospel.

We live in a cold, dark world, but thankfully we have the Light of the world.

Early Merry Christmas!

If you are interested, click the link below. Peace

Portugal – the Journey is Ending

We are leaving Lisbon in a few minutes. I’m sitting in the airport gearing up for the flight to Newark, hoping that it is smooth. We have a long day of traveling and short layovers.

As I look back over the week there have been many memories made. The rainy drives through Northern Portugal, toting my umbrella through the little villages along the way. The sunny days in desolate locations where I couldn’t find another tourist in sight. The winding roads through the mountains, the tight squeezes through the cobblestone streets, the countless number of toll roads – too many to count.

I didn’t know what to expect out of Portugal. I really don’t have a bucket list of places I want to go to, I just let the cheap tickets lead the way and I humbly follow as if destiny, and destiny was correct.

Even though this country is small and easily drivable in a week, don’t let the small size dissuade you from exploring it.

It packs loads of adventures, interesting sights, delicious pastries and unique mealtime flavors.

I may have to return someday and eat more of the sweets that seem to be scattered throughout the country with their staple – pasteis de nata (custard tart). I may just eat at all the Italian restaurants though for meals and head to the Portuguese for desserts.

Yes, this has been a great week.

Who knows…I may return again someday. I won’t put it on my do not return list. It’s definitely on my returnable one. (But luckily I haven’t been anywhere I would not return.)

So farewell Portugal. Obrigada!

Peace