30 Hours of Travel

August 13, 2014

We finally made it to our new home after 30 hours of traveling. We arrived at home at midnight without Brian. He had ordered two cars to pick us up knowing we had 6 people and a LOT of luggage. 14 checked pieces of luggage plus 6 small backpacks and a roller bag I kept because Ashlyn was vomiting just two hours before we left for the airport and I felt confident I had better have a suitcase full of wardrobe changes for both her and I. Luckily neither of us needed them. Then we had three lost bags and that took well over an hour to file the claim. Finally, Brian we for to the curb only to see another problem. One SUV and no car seats. Brian sent us home in the first car alone, sans car seats, and he waited at the airport another hour for them to dispatch a second SUV to the airport to get him and the remainder of the luggage.

It wasn't quite the joyful, togetherness filled homecoming we had imagined after five months apart - him handing me a key and saying good luck but that's okay. We got home at midnight and had to search for the house because I didn't actually know where I lived. He arrived a little after 1 am. We had already worn out all the light switches and found a fee surprises he left us.

Everyone got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with bread he had stashed in the freezer before he left. Then it was to bed by 2 am. Ashlyn slept a solid 60 minutes before waking up from her nap to play. We put her in our bed and tried to make the best of it but I don't think Brian or I slept at all from 3:30 am to 6:00 am when the poor guy had to go to work. He said goodbye to Ash and then two minutes later she began to wail. Daddy had left her. AGAIN. She was so angry and heart broken. When he came back to the bedroom to brush his teeth in the bathroom she was consoled and I grabbed the iPad to distract her from his next attempt at leaving.

The three big kids are all crashed in their beds. I'm hoping they sleep very late and kick this jet lag thing in the butt quickly. Brian works today and tomorrow then it's the sabbath so at least he only has to survive two days before he can sleep in. And I hope when Ashlyn naps today that I can put on a movie for the big kids and have a long snooze myself.