Spring Break, Part II

I notice that my last post came across all in one paragraph. I guarantee that I didn't write it that way! I left off in the spring break saga with our arrival back in Plainfield. That was Tuesday. On Wednesday, we all slept in and spent the rest of the day trying to get our bearings. The children--particularly Ryan--was itching to play with his "best friend" next door...so we let them have as much play time as possible. I think we watched a movie and ate popcorn that evening... Thursday, was Irish Day, at Robin's request. I put a corned beef in the pot and got stuff going. One of my friends from school came to take some portraits of Meg and Denis and me and the children. The children went to play with the neighbors some and/or have them here. I think Meg, Denis, and the children went to the park to take a walk and play. Eventually, Megan and Robin made Irish soda bread and we ate our Irish supper, complete with green milk. Thereafter, we watched a movie about leprechauns, but Megan and Denis had to crash before it was over. Grandma stayed up to finish it with the children, but it went on and on!! Friday was our last full day all together. The children played with the neighbor kids a bit, then we departed for an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese's. OMG! Are we nuts or what! CEC's is a money pit. Between food and endless game tokens, we probably spent $75 just so the children could come home with trinkets! Doesn't matter. They had a good time, and that's all that counts. Saturday (yesterday), the kids played a little and got their things together. Daddy and Stepmom were later than originally expected to pick them up, but it all worked out. They went to the other Plainfield grandparents for lunch before departing to Lafayette to pick up their stepsister on the way home. After they left, Megan and Denis left to do something at the canal in Indy. They were late getting home. Supper consisted of cleaning out the refrigerator leftovers. We watched a DVD that I had ordered from The History Channel called "The Naturalized". It's about folks in the process of becoming American citizens--which my son-in-law is doing. Quite interesting and revealing. I don't think the general American public has a CLUE of how hard/expensive it is to become a citizen of the US! Anyway, I went to bed thereafter and left Meg and Denis to their own devices. This morning, we were up early to deliver Meg and Den to the airport. Had them there just after 6:30 AM. I track their flights on the Internet. The first leg of their flight was to Denver. Just over Sterling, CO, the plane began to zig-zag, then made a couple of loops, and my mind went nutsy. If their plane crashed, how would I know? How would I get to them? How could I notify Denis's parents in Russia? I just kept watching and praying. Pretty soon, the plane seemed to get out of the loop formation and head for Denver. It landed about 18 minutes late. Apparently, they were in a "holding pattern" because Denver wasn't ready for them. Whew! I napped a couple of times during the day. Watched the flight from Denver to San Jose with no hitches. Meg called to say they had landed, then again when they got home. They had to go out to get groceries. 'Tis ever thus when one goes away for awhile. So now, spring break 2011 is history. Everyone is home where they are supposed to be. Life goes back to so-called normal. We packed way too much into one week, but it was special in a lot of ways. I am so very thankful for the opportunity to be with everyone, even though it came at a cost. The happy news is that Megan has a new job. I don't have all of the details yet, but it should get her out and about. God bless everyone for a very nice week!