It's strange to be 'on the other side' and read Nathan's blog from Albania. Ellie and I are in fresh clothes, crashing at my friend Jan's home. Wow, what a respite. I don't know where we would be without this break in travel. I can't describe it.
I was a bit apprehensive about traveling with Ellie all by myself, but she was doing so well (we had a 5 hour layover in Vienna followed by a 9.5 hour flight to DC) that I kind of let my guard down and began to believe we'd make the rest of the trip without any hiccups. We were really enjoying each others' company and having fun. In spite of her own tries to go to sleep during the flight, she didn't succumb to sleep until the last 30 minutes of the "long" flight. By the time our row was exiting I could barely get her to wake up, much less walk on her own accord. She started crying. And didn't stop. For over an hour. Talk about frazzled [me]. She wanted me to carry her, but I had a backpack of my camera gear (which was way overweight), plus her backpack of books and activities, and another pack with my laptop and our change of clothes. At one point in time in line for passport control, I just kicked two bags across the floor while I carried her. Her weight was worth the break in tears.
I won't go into my thoughts on Dulles' insane practice of having 2 separate passport/immigration terminals depending on if you're connecting to another flight or if DC is your final destination. (DC was not my final destination, but unbeknownst to me initially, the agent in Tirana only checked my bags through to DC -- I had to drag a sobbing child back and forth between shuttles until we could figure out on which one we belonged).
Perhaps you can understand my relief that I'm sitting by a fan, freshly showered, with a snoring Ellie on the couch and Jan has just arrived with Thai food from our favorite Thai place in Arlington (our little tradition). We have a couple of hours before we leave for Reagan National and our last flight home. I'll check in again when we get in (sometime after midnight)! Thanks for your prayers!
1 comment:
Hi Cydil and Ellie. So thankful your long trip is over!!! Ellie looks like she has grown taller in the blog pictures. Over all, she has been a trooper for all the miles and new experiences!!! Starting Kindergarten will be a wonderful adverture for her. Maybe it was meant to be that she is the "only" child on these first few days of her transition to "full day" school. We love her so much. Our prayers are with all 4 of you in your different places. God is with each of you!!Praise his name!!
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