Home again... Things to do...

It is good to breathe the Edmonton air. Already the boys both sound better so I wonder if the 'cold' that both of them were hit with was really allergies to something in Minnesota. We got in later than expected last night. A delayed flight to Toronto from Thunder Bay in the morning resulted in re-scheduling our connection and spending far too much time in the Thunder Bay Airport. I lost it a bit here and there, but was more frustrated with Air Canada (not having anyone on the desk, not being able to seat us together initially, delaying the flight to begin with...) and I know that it is difficult to expect 2 young boys to stand still for an hour while we wait for help to fix the problems. It is good to be home, and now we wait for my luggage which they said would be here this morning but will likely not make it until the afternoon based on the phone call I just received. I indicated to the caller that I was a little annoyed that it would not be here in the morning as I had been told it would be. I did not recite the litany of my day yesterday to drive home the point, but I am thinking of calling the number on the card I got yesterday and reciting that litany to them so that I get made a bit of a priority. They hold you hostage. I can't even leave to get my other suitcase from my parent's house because I have to be home for the airplane one. This means that we are going to be low on clothes until I actually have the dirty clothes from travelling to wash. So, if you see me in the next few days and you wonder why I am wearing what I am wearing, that is why...

The reunion was good. Being on my own with the boys meant that I had to frequently truncate conversations and occasionally leave the party early to get Gibson back to the suite to settle down. I managed to make sure that Oliver didn't always have to leave with us, so that was good. Both boys had a blast with their new-found second cousins. A distinct highlight came at a Performance of Beauty and The Beast when Oliver had little Katy sit on his lap because she was scared. I also truly loved the granddaughter's tea with Grandma. It was so nice to visit and even more so in that configuration. I had another hour long visit with Grandma on my own, but the patter of memory and laughter at the tea was far more comfortable and joyful. It was not tainted with the fear that this might be the last visit, but instead was light and funny and natural and I think Grandma had a wonderful time, too.

I got back to approximately 120-130 emails between my 3 email accounts. I sorted and responded for over 2 hours last night and woke up to another 25 this morning. Such is my life. It was kind of nice to be completely away from a computer for almost a week. The disconnect helped me to disconnect. Now I am back and back to business...

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