journey home

3:15… AM… barely asleep for fear of sleeping in, the alarm clock chimed. Up and at 'em for our long way home. Quick showers and after the last minute pack it was time to check out of our hotel (the Savoy) and catch the taxi to the airport.

Hurry up and wait was the drone of the day.

Hurtle through the dark streets of Rome to reach the airport. Check our bags and find the gate. Wait for 2 hours. Finally the plane arrived and we boarded, just in time for an extra 1/2 hour on the tarmac.

Land at Frankfurt. De-plane and cram onto a bus. Try to figure out where to go (flight was a few hours off and gate not yet posted). Guess. Take train to another terminal. Try to figure out where to go. Gate still not posted. Walk, walk, walk. Have breakfast (a typical German breakfast of white steamed/boiled sausage and pretzel). Try to figure out where to go. Walk some more. Check board, flight posted, more walking. Wait, stand in line, wait, stand in line to board bus, cram onto bus, wait in line to board plane in rain, get to seat, wait and wait (over an hour) for clearance to take-off. Sit on plane for 9 hours.

Finally land in Ottawa and we are close to home. Mom is a sweetheart and picks us up. Quick visit in their driveway and we are in the car and on our way home. Relief (and dismay at tall, overgrown grass) as we pull into the laneway. The dogs are released from the house to their great joy. Crying and leaping for joy all the way around.

It was wonderful walking into our own house with our own pets. Pat had vacuumed and cleaned up so it was especially nice. Grace was the only one not happy to see me - she declined a scratch and puffed up at me. She's either mad, or has transferred her affections over to Pat.

Carm was a whirling dervish at unpacking his bag, but I slowly worked at mine. I was too tired to figure out what I had to do so eventually collapsed on the sofa. We did a load of laundry. Too tired to eat anything but chips. My plan was to stay up until 9 or 9:30 but I couldn't stay awake and succumbed not long past 8:30 pm. I may have been asleep before my head hit the pillow, and stayed asleep, (with a little break to have a snack), until 12:30 pm. Even then I had to drag myself out of bed.

Carm was up at the crack of dawn (still on Rome time). He got some paperwork done, printed out applications for a NEXUS card (will get us through customs without a 30 to 60 min wait). And then, while I was sound asleep, got cracking on the grass. He was still at it a few hours later when I emerged from the bedroom.

The grass is green (stating the obvious), and the apple trees are in full bloom. The first one in the row has more blossoms than I have ever seen. It is beautiful! The pink tulips are at the last of their glory. All together it is a wonderful welcome home.