Survival Tip #12: Whenever possible, return to your homeland.
We were unable to go to California at Christmas time this year so we decided to go at the end of January. Things had slowed down and everyone could get together. It was a really nice trip for a variety of reasons, but getting to California included. a few "Jontal Tragedies".
I tend to be pretty forgetful. With that forgetfulness often comes some comical bad luck. Vander has coined these instances "Jontal Tragedies" and it's too true to not call them such myself. Upon arriving at the airport Vander and I made it through security easy, but as we were waiting to have our carry ons scanned, I realized my bag looked a LOT bigger than everyone else's... That's when I realized I'd always referred to my bag as a carry on, but never checked to see if it really was. It fit on the scanner thing, but it was a bit tight. When we got through I began to panic, just looking at all the other, very small bags. We made it to our gate eventually and I tried to shove the bag into the frame that shows if your bag is too big, under the watchful eyes of the not-so-perky attendant... and it BARELY fit... like I was shoving it in, pounding on it to slide in, when the attendant said "Don't worry about. It'll fit." with a tone that really conveyed "Stop wasting my time and just get on the plane." One tragedy avoided! Unfortunately, just before this we realized tragedy number two was totally unavoidable: I remembered to bring my DSLR (unlike our last CA trip), but had left on the zoom lens. Drat. It did make it possible for me to take some pictures of the cool art in the food court of SeaTac.
Jontal Tragedy #3) Forgot to turn off my laptop (aka my electronic device) before take off. The plane didn't crash, but my battery was drained. Enough said.
We made it to SJC safe and sound and were promptly whisked off to In-N-Out. We then returned to my parents house and said our hellos as family members trickled home. Jackson, Nate and Diane's son, is beyond adorable and when we walked in he looked up, pointed and said "Uncle Vandoo?" Jackson is 1.5 and we've spent so little time with him, but he recognized Vander! It was so sweet. Stefen and Chelsea arrived later in the day/night on separate flights so my parents went to every Bay Area airport on Friday. Impressive.
Also impressive: my dad bought a Kinect and XBOX 360 for himself this Christmas. We played sooo much and it was way more fun than I thought it would be!
Saturday I slept it and felt wrecked for an hour after waking, but after a fabulous breakfast Stefen, Chelsea, Vander, Dad and I went for a walk. We originally just intended to go to Starbucks for a coffee to help wake up, but took a detour by a creek. By the time the walk was done we were so hot we couldn't stand the idea of hot drinks. The walk was nice and provided opportunities to use my zoom lens.
Saturday afternoon Stacey, Marshall, Logan, Olivia and Krista came over and we celebrated a belated Christmas. We had homemade ravioli (YUM!), popped Christmas poppers, opened gifts and reconnected. It was so nice, I can't even begin to explain. I never realize how much I am missing as Olivia and Logan grow up, or how many general things in the lives of my siblings are happening until we come visit. Boo. Regarding gifts, Melanee had me for Christmas and sent a cute stocking of things from NZ. My parents gave me a memory card for my DSLR and a Nordstrom gift card! Vander got a cool lighter and thermos from my parents. We stayed up late, but it was still not long enough... It never is.
Sunday we went to church and got to see soooooo many people. It was such a blessing to return home and still feel at home. It was actually a good service to attend: Pastor John announced he is retiring this year, which is sad, but I was glad to hear him make the announcement and not just hear it through the grapevine. After church we chatted a bit but had to rush off so we could grab lunch (In-N-Out) and get to the airport. Cue Jontal Tragedy #4: I left my scarf at my parent's house. They were kind enough to mail it to me (Thanks Dad and Laura!), but the trip wouldn't be complete without a JT to seal at the end.
I love going home to visit, but I hate it at the same time. It is never long enough, and trips home are so infrequent I want to spend all my time with family, which doesn't leave time for friends. If I was unable to visit with you, please know I wasn't leaving you out. I just need an excuse to spend a week at home. Maybe then it will feel long enough (... but it probably won't :) ).
I love you California. Your colors are muted in a beautifully relaxed way, your weather is warm, and so many of my favorite people live in your land. I pray the land on either side of Eugene, OR falls away in a massive shift of plate tectonics, and Washington and California rush to fill the gap, leaving the boring parts of the State of Jefferson behind. See you in April!
