Travel days are so anti-climactic when it’s
time to go home – even when you’re happy to be going back to your family and
friends!
Mother Nature may have been trying to help
us to get ready for the return to the wintry north by having us wake up to
temperatures that hovered around fifty while we got ready and loaded onto the
buses for the airport. The forecast had
been for a cooler day in Orlando too; though it ended up being just as nice
there today as it has been for our entire visit. The good news for us, though, is that it was
in the mid-sixties when we got back to our home airport this afternoon; and we’ve
been teased about bringing the warm weather with us from Florida since getting
home and back together with our families.
I’m jumping around a bit too much with the story because I’m writing
this while getting ready for a sofa sleepover with Michael, but while I need to
keep this short; let’s try to keep the rest of the update in order.
Michael and I skipped Tai Chi so that we
could help load the band instruments into the bus cargo holds. We didn’t have time for breakfast before
leaving for the airport either; helped out with the unloading and baggage check
at the airport; and then helped with getting all of the younger students
through security before we did have time for breakfast with our travel
group. We managed to stay ahead of
schedule; Michael and I were also two of the volunteers doing the boarding
check to make sure we didn’t leave any teens or chaperones behind; and then the
flight back was fairly uneventful – except for the layover for the plane
switch. That was an adventure because we
didn’t have as much time for that on the return connection; so we didn’t even
have time to do more than pick up snacks and drinks on the way between gates.
We were back at our home airport by one; had
the buses loaded again by a bit after two; and there were boxes of food and
drinks for us to have instead of trying to stop for fast food so that we could
hit the road and be home by four-thirty or five. The buses pulled into the school parking lot
right on time; quite a few parents were there by then to pick up their kids;
and while my parents, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden all came over to the
school; they joined in to help with unloading the buses so that we could get
that work done sooner. With the extra
hands, those of us that did stay to help were set free by a bit after five;
Michael and I split up while taking our luggage to our own homes; and then he
came over to our house for dinner – and so that we could join in for the dinner
part of the family dinner and a movie night.
That gave us the chance to give out a lot of the souvenirs we’d picked
up for my family and some friends; and we were the main attraction for story
time while we enjoyed our first home-cooked meal in a week. The nice weather had helped with that, and
Dad and Uncle Adam grilled the chicken and steaks for dinner to go along with a
casserole and other veggie side dishes.
Since we had a dance to get ready for,
Michael and I got out of the clean-up as well as the pre-dinner work; we split
up to do that since we both wanted to grab showers too after a long travel day;
and then we went over to the Inn to see his parents before going on to the
school for the dance. They were happy to
see us, but busy because a lot of families had come to the Inn for dinner with
their returning teens – and there had been a few dates set up for dinner ahead
of the dance too. Michael and Rebecca
didn’t have to work because Miranda couldn’t be sure they’d be home on time;
but we’ll be back to working extra shifts starting in the morning for Michael
and me. We kept that visit short; and
got to the school in time to be drafted for a bit of last-minute set-up work.
I like going to our school dances –
especially since Michael and I started dating, and Valentine’s Day is one of
the best; but I was getting a bit too tired to really enjoy the party by the
time it kicked off with a blast of dance tunes.
Being tired didn’t keep me from having a lot of fun; and we especially
enjoyed talking with the handful of friends we hadn’t seen all week. All of the teens and tweens that had stayed
home this week had spent the day decorating the gym for the dance and mostly
goofing off – and they’d played pretty much every day this week. I’m glad that they had some fun and
excitement too; though I wouldn’t trade our adventures for theirs for a second!
The entertainment tonight was a D.J. with
karaoke on the side. Michael and I got
drafted to sing a couple of ballads, but we made that our limit; and sang the
first one early and the second one nearer to the end of the dance. We also danced a lot; visited with Rowen,
Tim, and some of our other friends when we needed breaks; and wandered off for
a bit of fresh air once when I needed to do that to avoid having a nap. The dance wrapped up at a bit before one;
Michael and I stayed for the clean-up; and headed here to my house at around
one-thirty. I brought Michael home with
me because we only have time for a long nap anyway; and I decided that I wanted
to do that while cuddling with him.
Everyone here was already sleeping by the
time we got home; the twins have their besties spending the night too; and
nobody will mind having Michael here too.
We might even be gone again before anyone wakes up in the morning.
I do need to get to that nap soon or we’ll
just be staying awake and then going to work.
Since this will be my first shift as a server; that’s a bad idea. This hasn’t been an extreme fun day compared
to the past five days, but with the dance and a day spent with our friends
while flying and busing from Orlando to here; it has been an adventure!
It’s also nearly-time to return to our ‘normal’
lives again. Starting that out with a
sofa sleepover seems like a great way to do that to me, and I really am ready
to join Michael in the lounge now to do that; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
