The trip of the year is finally here. After a successful calming down, planning and of course God , we were able to do the Indians outreach for Christmas at church , the Christmas fair, wind up at work with reports and invoicing , things to do with the house....... The list tend to get terribly long. It gives one such joy to cross off every one of those " things to do "off the board.
Even so there is always something to do at the last minute. We left home Wednesday morning 1.5 hours later than expected. Hoping that we wouldn't miss our flight , we got stuck in the traffic en route Dusseldorf. As Bobby left us at the airport entrance to rush and check in, he left to park the car at the airport parking. Thankfully, they didn't need to see him to check him in. With 1.5 hours left to boarding, we could even sit down to have breakfast. Chocolate croissant covered the table. We were famished and so were the kids .
The kids settled into their seats and were excited to take off, so they could begin their unlimited TV viewing. With gaps of lunch and doing coloring and puzzles, I was glad that their eyes weren't blood shot red when we reached Abu Dhabi. An hour delay to catch our next flight, we hung around the gate. The kids were surprisingly fine . As we settled into our flight the kids slept off. I could at least feed Benjamin some dinner while Elijah was completely out.
My goal was to watch the maximum number of movies I could watch. So I watched man of steel, the Great Gatsby and the new Star Trek movie.( I didn't have time to check the exact name as I was rushing to finish the movie before we landed.)
After a quick exit at the immigrations and the baagage collection area we entered Gods own country with gush of good old humidity. We were welcomed by my father in law and brother in law.
It was wonderfully to see family and especially my very first nephew , little Noah .
On Saturday, my parents came to see us and invite people from around Trivandrum. The boys were overjoyed to see their grandparents .
In a few days we will be going to my parents place and the festivities will begin. It's hard to believe that my baby brother is getting married. Looking forward to all the fun and welcoming Ria and her family into ours.
Even so there is always something to do at the last minute. We left home Wednesday morning 1.5 hours later than expected. Hoping that we wouldn't miss our flight , we got stuck in the traffic en route Dusseldorf. As Bobby left us at the airport entrance to rush and check in, he left to park the car at the airport parking. Thankfully, they didn't need to see him to check him in. With 1.5 hours left to boarding, we could even sit down to have breakfast. Chocolate croissant covered the table. We were famished and so were the kids .
The kids settled into their seats and were excited to take off, so they could begin their unlimited TV viewing. With gaps of lunch and doing coloring and puzzles, I was glad that their eyes weren't blood shot red when we reached Abu Dhabi. An hour delay to catch our next flight, we hung around the gate. The kids were surprisingly fine . As we settled into our flight the kids slept off. I could at least feed Benjamin some dinner while Elijah was completely out.
My goal was to watch the maximum number of movies I could watch. So I watched man of steel, the Great Gatsby and the new Star Trek movie.( I didn't have time to check the exact name as I was rushing to finish the movie before we landed.)
After a quick exit at the immigrations and the baagage collection area we entered Gods own country with gush of good old humidity. We were welcomed by my father in law and brother in law.
It was wonderfully to see family and especially my very first nephew , little Noah .
On Saturday, my parents came to see us and invite people from around Trivandrum. The boys were overjoyed to see their grandparents .
We visited Bobby's aunt and uncle. His uncle had suffered a stroke this year and his road to recovery has been good,but still taking its time. Even with a week right side, they aren't bound at home and try to still continue to get a taste of their traveling life they were used to earlier. Its been hard to see them tired and not like their usual active self , but trusting God to care for their needs .
We visited another aunt and uncle , but this time there wasn't a grand mother to hug and chat with. The house did feel different without her , she lived a full life without any major illnesses and slipped away when it was her time.
This morning my parents came to visit us and also invite a few people from here for the wedding. Visiting old friends and cousins are always lovely. But it was saddening to see my great grand aunt. My grandmother is her niece, but they were the same age. They lived in Singapore for many years and we call her Singapore Mummy. My grandmother and her are more like sisters. They are great friends too.She was always eager to see us and loved to see me looking nice and plump. She wasn't
much for skinny girls . Her cotton sarees were neatly worn and stood stiff, well pleated. She stayed by herself in their ancestral home until recently. How can such a healthy person full of life just shrink so much. She just shrunk. Her collar bone sticking out, her arms dangling through the sleeves of her night dress. I had to search for that smile on her face.
My own grandmother who was so active until a few years ago, preaching at woman's fellowships, going for a baptism and then a wedding , all in one day, suffer from early dementia. She now lives
in Kuwait and prefers to sleep all day and hardly speaks. There are a few active back to her usual self days which are treasured by family.
I don't think I have seen, or remember seeing close family change so much as they age. Maybe it just didn't stick in my mind when we would come for the summer to India when we were still kids.
In a few days we will be going to my parents place and the festivities will begin. It's hard to believe that my baby brother is getting married. Looking forward to all the fun and welcoming Ria and her family into ours.
