So good to be back at home. And to a warm Massachusetts that’s about as nice as the Texas we left. (Nicer, actually, yesterday and today were both warm and muggy and this pregnant lady was distinctly uncomfortable.)
Fortunately, we left the apartment in pretty good order (I even made the bed!) so apart from unpacking and laundry, there’s not a huge pile of work waiting. Though tomorrow’s main task will be removing the decorations from our listing Christmas tree and disposing of the remains. (Which are not as tinder-dry as I expected.)
We had a good travel day today. We ate a nice BBQ lunch at the airport while waiting for our plane to board. The plane was not filled up and so we spread out on both sides of the aisle. We had staked out the second to last row and so Bella had ample opportunity for charming the two flight attendants who sat behind us. And boy were they charmed.
Unfortunately she’d fallen asleep in the car on the way to the airport and slept only about twenty or thirty minutes, waking up when I put her back in the stroller after we went through security. The rule seems to be that if she falls asleep at any point during the day for any length of time, we won’t be able to get her to fall asleep again. But she didn’t get cranky at all, her tiredness mostly exhibited itself in the last hour when she insisted on standing up in the seat and chatting over the back of the seat with the flight attendant, putting the middle armrest up and down, kissing the television screen in the seat in front of her, and trying to embrace the fish on the laptop’s screen where Finding Nemo was playing in a futile attempt to soothe her to sleep.
We made good time, arriving about twenty minutes early. My brother-in-law picked us up and Bella was very excited to see two of her cousins accompanying her uncle. She seems very happy to be home. She immediately ran around, picking up her toys and greeting them like old friends, especially excited to see the new ones she got at Christmas. Pushing the toy, vacuum around, sitting down to read one of the books she got for Christmas right before we left. She was effusive in her bath, chattering and chanting with lots and lots of “diggle, diggle,” her happy noise.
I’m thrilled to find that our new hot water heater works—installed by our landlord while we were away. And I am very much looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. I’m sure tomorrow we’ll start to go through withdrawal. Bella will very much miss being the center of attention, the affection of her doting grandparents, auntie “Treese”, her uncles, as well as her new sweetheart, my sister’s friend Debbie who Bella named “Doll”.
I also anticipate some serious getting down to preparing for the all-too-imminent arrival of little Sophia. Nesting mania here I come!
Every time I’ve met in person with a Catholic blogger I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how easy conversation flows, even from the very start. This was such an enjoyable shindig that we’ll have to make it a standing engagement whenever you guys visit Texas.
Oh, and if Dom is looking for his Boston ball cap… It’s sitting neatly on a shelf in our living room. Send us an address and we’ll mail it back to him!
What a great post! To follow a great meeting! It was very different from anything I have ever experienced for all of the reasons you mention. Though in some ways I can’t think too much about it, as I might become awkwardly aware that my fellow bloggers know things about me that might take years for me to reveal to an in-person friend or acquaintance! Those “leaps of faith” that one takes with friendships are not quite the same in this media. In this way, blogging really does cut to the chase by revealing the essence of a person. On the other hand, I think I am a more upbeat & pleasant person than my blog might indicate (especially since I just had 9 months of personality-altering pregnancy hormones!!), at least most of the time. And yet. . . that really is me. We just show ourselves differently in this medium. Hmmm. . . Lots to think about! Can’t wait to do it again!!
“Certainly it is important to know people who live nearby and with whom you can have physical contact; but I maintain that many of the friendships I’ve formed online are as real as any I’ve had face to face.”
I completely agree. I can also relate to living a hermit-like existence, but not having it bother you too much.
Looking forward to seeing you again next time you come to Texas!
My wife and I are sorry we missed out on the Central Texas blogger get together!
We expect to be invited next year and many apologies to be made.
Isn’t it bad form to invite oneself to a strangers’ party?
Seriously, sorry you weren’t included, Devin, but it was really just a gathering of friends who happen to know each other from online. We weren’t excluding anyone, but it wasn’t a general Austin blogger meetup, although that’s not a bad idea for some future time.