I found myself giddy with anticipation as I flew home from East Asia almost exactly three weeks ago. I had been gone for one and a half weeks - the longest time I've ever been away from Nathan or the kids. Not only away, but on the other side of the world. As Nathan said, "that place that we always said we were digging to as kids." ha ha! From most aspects, the time flew by; but in a few ways, it felt as though I had been gone for a long time. I had visions of running into Nathan's arms and seeing my kids, sharing presents and showing off my pictures to everyone. I wasn't quite sure how the whole jet lag thing would work out, but that didn't dampen my excitement.
Luckily, my expectations were almost completely fulfilled as we rode down the final escalator to the baggage claim.....except that I was the only one in our group without a family member waiting there for them. This can be explained by two things - work and kids. Nathan had to work, and he actually stopped by mid-shift a few minutes later. And my mom was driving my two sleepy, little kids around and around in the parking lot, finding herself just a little lost. When I jumped into the car both of my kids just stared at me with huge, blue eyes wide and sparkling. They didn't say very much except, "MaMa!" every minute or so, in little pipsqueak voices. Yes, their voices had changed since I'd heard them last! (not really, but they sounded so funny and young to my ears!)
The whole way home I basically talked to the kids, and they just sat and listened to me. They both kept reaching for me, and Luke could barely contain his excitement/surprise that I was back! He kept reaching for me and saying, "holj me" (hold me), and Lydia actually found herself at a lack for words. :) Since Nathan was at work, we waited until Monday night to have a welcome home dinner and cake, for me to share my pictures and to distribute my gifts to the family.
Here are some things that I desperately missed while I was gone:
- Nathan
-my kids
- flushing toilets with lots of TP
- bread, cheese and sugary, doughy desserts (I sound so American!)
- soft mattresses and pillows
- rugs
- hot showers
Here are some things that I could have enjoyed for a little longer:
- chopsticks
- the food!!!
- visiting historical sites and the countryside
- the awesome team over there!
- learning the language
- doing more of what I did
PS - the jet lag only lasted a week - ahhh! - but apparently, that's normal. I woke-up at 3:30am and never went back to sleep for 2-3 days......then I finally started sleeping through the night.
It was worth it.
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