Saturday, August 1, 2009

Departures and Arrivals




The adventure has begun - and what a beginning it has been!

Friday morning, I woke up an hour early - 3:30 am - with the distinct impression that I should double check my flight info. Marje just happened to have left her computer downstairs and, lo and behold! I had mistaken my arrival time for my departure time! From that point I had 2.5 hours to pick up Liza from the hospital in Chandler, get to the airport, through security, and board my plane. With some significant help from Abs and Lizy, I made it just fine - though there were a couple of nerve wracking moments like getting pulled over for not having my lights on (how did the automatic lights get turned off!?!) and tearing through my luggage at the ticket counter to get rid of 9 pounds and avoid a $150 fee...but it all worked out; no ticket, no fee.

The flights were fine - better than expected. My last and longest leg was on a Lufthansa air bus. I am now an official Lufthansa fan. The service was excellent, the entertainment options varied and fee-free, and they provided little feather pillows with quality linens - brilliant!

Well, Kara will appreciate that I once again had a little difficulty getting out of the airport. I think I'll just make it a tradition now. However, I did manage - and in decent time too.

Then off to my family's house. We drove up the driveway that wraps around the house to a precious little scene: the 3 children (ages 2, 4, and 6) were sitting at their little picnic table on the porch with their breakfast laid out. Hooray for summer picnicking! Mommy and Vatti spent the day doing yard work, the little ones lounging and playing, and I in a constant state of mild befuddlement. Knowing so little of the language, and not being sure whether I ought to be speaking English or German contributed to the confusion. Trying to work myself into family dynamic compounded it. Then there was the fact that I had had a total of maybe 3 hours of sleep since 3:30 am AZ time...and we all know how funky I get on no sleep. It's amazing!

A nap, a shower, and some peace and quiet have restored at least a portion of my sanity. I am now sitting in my little bedroom at the top of the house, enjoying the view of the pretty garden below, and my lovely welcome flowers on my table within. Though I have no idea what to expect for the upcoming months, I feel at peace. I think this will be good.

My cute little room

View of the garden from my window

1 comment:

  1. Juan mistakes departure/arrival flights all of the time...it is something I have grown to know and love (and micro-manage) about him :)

    ReplyDelete