The return to "real" life can always be a little jarring...
33. Home Again (May 2013)
 |
| saying goodbye to the beach |
Their last
morning in Prince Edward Island, Kate and the rest of the crew headed down one
last time, to “say goodbye to the beach.” This was a tradition in Kelsey’s
family, and Kate thought it fun and worthy of adopting whenever possible. The nature
of the goodbye depended on the age of the traveler. Kate walked down the beach
a way, looking at the red dirt cliffs and cute cottages. Young Kate also
tromped down the beach, but not to look at the scenery. She was endeavoring to
match footprints and stride with some earlier (and much larger) walker. Rose
made a sandcastle. James Jr. ate sand.
The
goodbyes having been duly accomplished, they returned to the cottage and all
three children “said goodbye” to the bathtub with much merriment and splashing.
Kate made piles of things in the entry to be secured in the car, and packed up
food from refrigerator and cupboards. They all ate a hasty lunch, put the
sleepy children in their car seats, and set out for another very long drive.
Kate was glad that she could spend the afternoon seeing the island geography,
which had been obscured by darkness (and sleep) on the way up. It was rural,
but not in the same unkempt, wild way that Alaska was. The island was beautiful and
calming with its red roads and gently rolling hills and lines of evergreens
dividing multi-colored farm plots.
 |
| red roads and cottages |
They
arrived in Boston
in the early hours of the morning, and after a few hours of wonderful coziness
on what was once again “the most
comfortable bed she had ever touched” Kate was up sorting out Miller belongings
from the Wills’ and eating oatmeal pancakes. Kate hated to leave so quickly. It
would have been perfect to spend a day or two in Boston to help Kelsey pack up
for their trip home to Oregon, and to
wind up a wonderful vacation. But Mister was starting a conference the next
day, so it was important to get back to Virginia .
So she sorted and packed and ate and thought about the coming week, wondering
what she was forgetting, and feeling a little like a hamster running in his
little ball…downhill.
But after
another nine hours of driving, Kate felt a little calmer and ready to take the
coming days one at a time. They pulled up in the favorite of their two parking
spots, got out, and went inside. Everything was still and quiet. Kate smelled
the same familiar house scent that she had smelled when they first stepped into
the place nearly two years before. She sighed. After two weeks of visiting and
driving all over creation, home felt good. Mister set his keys and water bottle
down on the small table by the door and put his arms around his wife’s
shoulders. He held her close, then gave her a kiss and said with a smile, “It’s
good to be home with you.”
Since it
was still early in the evening, Kate started to unpack their bag. She pulled
out business cards or gifts they had been given back at Hillsdale, and Kate
shook her head. It seemed so long ago
that they had been there!
“Can you
believe all that’s happened since we left?”
“Hmm?”
Mister murmured, preoccupied with a mountain of mail.
“So much
has happened!” she repeated. “All the people we’ve seen, the places we’ve gone
to, the number of states we’ve driven through!”
Mister
looked up and thought for a moment. “It’s been a very full trip. And very fun.
But it’s nice to be home too. And now I have to get ready for this conference
tomorrow.”
Kate
grimaced. “When does it start? Do you have a schedule?”
Mister
rummaged around. “This was in the mail,” he opened a pamphlet. “Oh wow. It
looks busy. Except for tomorrow, it looks like it will probably be around 8AM
to 9PM…ish.”
Kate
nodded, she wasn’t happy about it, but she understood. Their wonderful vacation
was over for now. The hamster ball was rolling, the momentum was rising, and
pretty soon she’d have to start running again.
No comments:
Post a Comment