Coming Home

I think I've put off this post because it is about the return to real life. Don't get me wrong, I love our real life and I missed the kids, but our trip was so great. It was nice to just be me and Eric for several days.

On Friday morning, we woke up kinda late and packed up. Eric had found a bakery place that was close by so that's where we headed for breakfast. It was delicious! I wished we had found it early in our visit instead of at the end. We each had a bacon and egg sandwich (which were so big we could have shared one) on a home made roll. I think they were $2.75 each. Which brings me to say that things weren't quite as expensive in NY as we had thought they would be. We had thought taxis would be outrageous but paid $35 for the airport ride. A subway ride is $2.25. Dinner everywhere we ate was reasonable. Now, I know that there are LOTS of places that are super expensive, but it was nice to know that we didn't have to scrounge to eat well.

We strolled back to the hotel. Finished packing and went downstairs to get a cab. The ride was the same except that this guy had trouble staying in his own lane. He also hardly said a word the whole time.

We made it to the airport plenty early to get through security and to the gate. Which brings me to say something about security. It really struck me this time how much headache (I mean, beyond the actual destruction--which is incalculable) a handful of terrorists have caused. Not just at the airport, where security makes sense but has also been taken to ridiculous extremes (we had to get rid of brand new deodorant and shave cream because they were too big, and my bottle of perfume because the container was too big. I said,"If I pour most of it out, can I take it on?" The lady said no because only 3.75 oz or smaller was allowed. This makes no sense to me, if you know and 8oz container only has a couple of ounces on it, what's the big deal? We did have the option of checking our carry-on bag, which would have cost $35 but we're not idiots so we didn't pay $35 for something that costs less that $10 to replace. It was just irritating) but also at the statue of liberty, where security is just as strict as at the airport, and the cathedrals (they have people stationed near the entrance to look in bags) and even the NY Public Library. It just seems a shame to need to distrust everyone because a few bad people did what they did. There's no other way, of course. It just seems like a lack of basic trust is another casualty of 9/11.

Our flights home were uneventful and we arrived on time in Jackson to 3 happy kids excited to see us. We are so grateful to my parents for keeping them and letting us have this time away. I encourage you to find the time to spend with just your spouse. It is so great to remember that we are a unit apart from our kids. We love and treasure our 3 kids, but the 2 of us were happy before the kids and we need to be able to be happy without them, since they won't be here forever. I'm not trying to rush they're exit at all but it is good to know that, in many years when our house isn't full of children and their needs, it will still be full of love.