Our long journey begins

I'm always a bit leary of vacation stories that begin with the flight but ours has to be mentioned for the simple fact that it was the first one Eva,Eli and I took on our own. I woke up at 4:30 the morning of our flight with the flu. After caring for Eli and Eva over the weekend, I finally caught the bug. It started out as a long morning but thank goodness for ImodiumMD! The children, sensing something was wrong with me, were on their best behavior the entire flight. Art took us as far as security and then wished us well. The children stayed mostly by my side. Eli did get a burst of of the "run-always" upon spotting his first big airplane out the window. Eva guarded our things as I quickly retrieved our little guy. We timed our arrival to the gate so that we were able to board immediately. The children were very excited about being on an airplane. I did not start handing out the the "goodies" until a couple of hours in to the flight. The play dough brought some concerned looks from the woman across the aisle from us but Eva and Eli not only did not throw it but kept it on their tray-table. This activity lasted at least an hour. Then there were the stickers, the magic markers, the masking tape and the treats (gum, cookie and juice). I would get unnerved as soon as I heard, "I have to go to the bathroom." But the one left behind just sat in their seat, good as an angle. The only raucous time was when the children sang their favorite Native American tune from their Music Together tape, "Hey Anah" which they love to belt out. I was wearing a salmon colored Indian chemise which I'm certain made us look like a nice Hari Chrisna family ready to hand out poppies down the aisle any minute.

Mom and Dad waiting for us at baggage claim was a sight for soar eyes. We packed in to their car and headed south. I had to sit in the back so as to keep the illness from Mom and Dad. As soon as we got to 29 south, beautiful Virginia began unwiding for me. Of course, the development continues in my absence but you can not hide the beauty. E + E loved to see the farmyards and point out the cows and horses. They were a little tired of traveling by the time we got to Madison County but we made it to Waynesboro without any major breakdowns. The minute we pulled up to 1344 Chatham Road they knew where we were. We went in and Eli wanted to see Granddaddy's digger. Eva crawled in her bed just as Daddy called from SF. I overheard her telling him all the details of our trip. the final point being, "and Daddy, I had more apple juice than I'd ever dreamed of. " I hit the bed and slept better than I had in months. Eli woke up early but Granddaddy took over and let me go back to sleep for a good few hours more. ahhhhhh