I started this post the day after we came home, but got just a _little_ busy... I'll leave it as is since it is a good snapshot in time, with an epilogue since we are pretty much back to our normal routines now.
Re-entry
Our Atlantic crossing was so smooth, uneventful, and easy it was hard to believe. There were a lot of places for things to go wrong, but everything worked as planned.
We left London on Tuesday morning, taking the Underground from our cute flat to Heathrow. When we got there we said our goodbyes since Jr, Sr, and I were headed to Terminal 1 while Grandpa's flight was from Terminal 3. We had checked half our bags at Heathrow on the way in, and had no trouble reclaiming them. The night before when I was not able to check in online for some reason, I was worried there might be a hitch with our tickets, but all was well. As my family tells me, worry is not a productive emotion.
We flew from London to Iceland, then Iceland to Dulles. At Dulles we picked up a rental car for the final 100 miles home, since that was way cheaper than flights to our rinky-dink airport from Europe. Again, no problems and the small SUV was plenty big for us and all of our luggage. Somehow, even though we went with 6 big duffels and shipped two boxes of books, we were able to come home with just 4 big duffels. Hope nobody was expecting a giant drum from Ghana as a gift!
We stopped at a huge grocery store on the way home, and had the required experience of being completely overwhelmed. Eventually, we were able to navigate this new cultural experience to get breakfast food and some cookies, but not the prepared food for dinner we'd wanted as that section was already closed. I can't remember if we actually had dinner than night, in fact.
Epilogue
As of today, we have been sleeping in the same place for over a week, a first since we left home at the end of December. I started back at my regular gig on Monday, as did Sr. Jr has already started day camp. It only took me until this afternoon to reach the bottom of my email inbox, and my colleagues have been very kind in not piling too much on me just yet. It helps that summer has started in academia, though there is never really a lull in the medical realm. The house is all unpacked and we feel pretty much resettled there.
We are already noticing a lot of changes to our perspectives and habits since we have been home. For example, as we unpacked all of the household belongings we'd stored while the house was rented, we realized how many things we hadn't missed. As other returnees have found, we had an easy time culling things and simplifying. Sr and I seem to feel more calm, as well. It might not last, but it is a good feeling to let little worries (and a few big ones) go. Jr actually likes our cooking these days, and is enjoying time with his friends and treasured belongings (the ones we let him keep, anyway ;-) We all have been noticing more of the details around us, checking what has changed since we left and enjoying the people, nature, and activities right here just like we did around the world.
Thanks for reading, everyone. I'm signing off until the next big adventure!
Here's one last pic of the family, at the SAS Alumni Ball:
