Waking up in my own bed, with my own pillow surrounded by the comforts of home is usually a joy after many nights away; usually after only one night away, to be honest, as I really love my mattress and pillow and tend to be a homebody. Not this morning, for a multitude of reasons. Beyond the readjustment to the familiar sounds of home like car traffic, dehumidifiers, and the normal creaks and groans our house makes, there is also the absence of the cottage sounds I have grown so accustomed to; different varieties of birdsong, woodland pigeons, breezes blowing through tall grass and the trees, the occasional ‘moo’ as the cows begin stirring for the day. Scents are different. Gone are the smells of fresh air mixed with wildflowers and roses, salt and seaweed from the neighboring bodies of water surrounding the cottage, and aromatic trees and shrubbery. They have been replaced by car exhaust, thick humidity, making it difficult to breathe, and stale, stagnant air. This is going to be an adjustment; one I am not looking forward to making, but have no alternative but to accept, at least for now.

Yesterday began with an alarm clock wake up around five at the the cottage, midnight for those in Michigan, and ended with crashing into bed in Michigan at midnight, five in the morning for our Irish friends; twenty-four hours of travel home without sleep for any of us. It was a long day. We hit the road for Dublin around six-thirty, took in every sight we could along the way to commit to memory and bring home with us, and arrived at the airport around nine. There were a couple of delays at security with Audra and Kevin’s carry-ons and after a very long wait, with Ellery and I off to the side surrounded by women who really enjoy their job of spraying perfume in the air, multiple scan checks, and TSA removing almost the entire contents of their bags, it was concluded that the bags, the content, and Audra and Kevin were of no threat. We grabbed a couple of quick sandwiches to eat and took off for Iceland.

Iceland was easy. It is a much smaller airport and although it was packed with people, we boarded our plane without issue after a eating a light snack. The plane journey had Audra seated a couple of rows in front of us, her choice, as she enjoys gazing out the window, and I think was looking forward to some time away from the rest of us. Kevin, Ellery and I sat in a row together. Kevin got us seats that provided additional legroom so that I could have a window seat, which never happens because of my struggles with claustrophobia, and I was excited to see the sky views and take pictures from the air. It was a smooth flight, minimal turbulence, and thankfully all of our checked bags arrived with us in Detroit.

We were greeted back into The States by my brother, Klayton, who picked us up and brought us back to his house, where we stretched our legs and visited for a while before embarking on the last leg of the journey home. After a quick stop at Taco Bell for food, Audra and Ellery, as champions of a game wager, got to pick our first meal home, pulled into the drive shortly after eleven. We crashed into bed after unpacking the car and slept, albeit, not well and not long as Kevin and I both woke this morning at five-thirty.

I would like to say, we are happy to be home. Currently, that is not the case; at least not for three out of the four of us. Audra, despite her love of Ireland and future plans to, hopefully, move there for school, is happy to be back with friends and the start of a new school year. The rest of us will adjust soon enough. Kevin has already unpacked his suitcase this morning and is making his list of things to do today to keep himself busy and distracted. The girls are, thankfully, still sleeping and hopefully will stay that way for awhile as they need the rest. I am writing. I do not plan on doing much today as the allergies I thought were plaguing Ellery the last few days, turned out not to be allergies but some sort of awful sickness that I am now sharing with her. Today may include unpacking, organizing gifts, a trip to the doctors, a trip to the grocery store, or a whole variety of other things I have yet to think of, but only after I finish my cup of tea.