MinnesotaMel

Back from a wonderful leave

My first leave flew all too quickly. The travel out and back was somewhat hellish. I don't know if I have written about what it takes to get in and out of this place. First, there is a ride to the landing zone (LZ), then a helicopter (aka helo) to the airport LZ, then a bus to the airport compound, then an overnight at the airport compound, then an early show time for airport checkin, then waiting for the flight to actually load and depart, then the flight to Amman in jumpseats, then a taxi to the hotel, 8-10 hours at a hotel, and a late night early checkin time for the commercial flight, then the 5 hour flight from Amman to Paris then a 7 hour layover in Paris, then an 8 hour flight to Minneapolis, then getting a rental car and then finally driving home. Left my office 15.30 Saturday. Arrived home 17.00 Monday. Ouch.

But seeing my family made me forget most of that travel pain. First on the agenda was to play with the kiddies and get lots of hugs. Next on the agenda was a hair cut, eye brow wax and pedicure, followed by an afternoon of shopping, chatting and laughing with my friend Tammi. Macy's will never be the same again. I found 4 possible dresses for my friend Marnie's wedding and quite a few outfits for work and fun. The work environment in Baghdad is normalizing, making suits more required than they once were, so my work wardrobe needed some supplemental care and feeding.

I bounced around each day between my home town, the campground, friends' houses, stores, errands and my sister's house. I was socializing, errand doing cyclone.

There were three highlights to my trip. First my friend Marnie's wedding. Marnie and Kent were married in what was supposed to be an outdoor ceremony on one of the few rainy days on my trip to MN. At the last minute they were able to adjust the ceremony location to their reception location and the whole event came off beautifully. My facebook page has a whole load of photos:
1- http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59165&l=5a6e7&id=623168486
2- http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59171&l=73272&id=623168486
3- http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59173&l=0f955&id=623168486
4- http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59179&l=e7587&id=623168486

They make each other very happy, and it shows in the way they talk, laugh and glow together. I am very envious.

My second highlight was also wedding related, but it was the celebration of a wedding 39 years later. My parents' wedding anniversary landed within my time home. To celebrate we had a family dinner (missing Michelle and Daisuke very much) at a great supper club. The food was amazing and we laughed and enjoyed spending time together. Then, after dinner, all three of the little kiddies came home with me and we had a slumber party together. Aunty 'Nina (me) does not get to spend a lot of one-on-three time with the kiddies, and the overnight was both fun and overwhelming. We played on the playground, enjoyed "camping out" on the living room floor on air mattresses, played with dolls, helped Grammy and Papa wit some chores and ate constantly. What fun!

The third highlight was traveling to Indiana to visit Gretchen, big Jack, little Jack and new baby Cora. Gretchen and I had been trying to get together before I left, but baby Cora did not want to be born on time and we ran out of time. So I took advantage of a few mid-week days and hopped a flight to see them. It was so much fun, even though it was a short visit. They have only been living in Indiana for a few years, so it was good to see their new home, enjoy the outlet malls and architecture of the local neighborhoods, and catch up on everything in our quickly changing lives. We also kicked around the idea of celebrating the Big 40 (coming up in a few years) by doing a getaway cruise around the Greek Isles. I hope that is one idea that we are able to make happen for all of us. One of my favorite parts of that trip was playing Wii. Big Jack "rented" one for me to try out after I mentioned that I was thinking about getting one. Dangerous, addictive and so much fun. Of course, the next week I spent too much time on eBay buying one. I am eagerly awaiting its arrival here so we can start Wii fun nights.

Now I am back. Trying to overcome jetlag issues with insomnia and get back into the work groove. It is tough to come back and get into everything again. Everything changes so quickly here. The welcome home notes they created for my boss's boss (she was away the same time I was) were 16 jam-packed full pages long! And there were taskers in there for me! Time to get back into everything.

posted by MinnesotaMel @ 12:38 PM