The Return

I guess the nice thing about having such a crappy start to your vacation is that the rest of the trip can only get better. Even though it was a little stressful traveling with two small children, one of whom is not interested in meeting new people, seeing new things, or leaving mommy's sight (Little Dude giggled with delight when he saw our front door today because he was so happy to be home), I still managed to have a good time on my whirlwind trip to Utah.

On Thursday I got together with some friends from grad school to have a little party. It was fun to see everyone and I had a great time hanging out with people from school again. People are all graduating and moving on to PhD programs, and I admit feeling a little jealous that so many of my friends seem to have their act together in a way that I don't. Over the last few years I feel like I've lost a lot of my old ability to act decisively; I'm trying to get that back. I also remind myself that people take different paths in life and that it is not unusual to take the slow track through grad school. But that's a post for a different day; I had a fun party with friends on Thursday afternoon and it was great to see everyone again. Two of my closest friends are going to the Midwest for grad school, and I feel a little sad that I don't feel like heading that direction with my life. Maybe we'll meet up at conferences sometime.

Thursday night I made a brief appearance at my cousin's wedding reception. It was good to see so many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins and to get a chance to visit with them for a little while. When I came out to Utah to go to school I really didn't know my extended family that well and I didn't have a relationship with them as an adult. Now I feel like I do and I enjoy hanging out with them. And I was touched that they are all concerned about me and expressed their love and support.

Friday I met up with a friend for lunch and then went to campus to jump through the last few hoops of thesis submission. Well, I didn't jump through hoops, but I did run all over campus with Little Dude in the stroller. I also broke my vow that I wouldn't buy anything at the bookstore when I saw a copy of The Mirror and the Lamp on clearance for only six dollars. I also picked up a compilation of women's writing for a few more bucks too. I'm not only addicted to reading, now I'm also getting addicted to buying books.

We spent Saturday at Lagoon with my mom's family. She's the third of eight children, so I have a lot of cousins. Now they are all getting married and starting families, so we had a pretty big group of people to hang out with. It was a lot of fun, although I felt exhausted by the end of the day. I don't know how people survive a week-long visit to Disneyland. But, I'm also not a big fan of crowded, noisy places or of going on rides. I didn't even really ride anything besides the train, the Ferris wheel, and the carousel. But S-Boogie's face on all the rides she went on was worth the sore feet and sweatiness.

This morning's plane ride was much less eventful than last time. My mom's flight left shortly after mine, so she was able to accompany me through check-in and security. Plus we were running a little late so I got to the gate just before pre-boarding; it was a wee bit stressful, but it was still nice to avoid hanging out in the airport. The only problem we had today was that I left Little Dude's pacifier back in the hotel, so he got to suddenly go cold turkey. He had a bottle for the first part of the flight and fell asleep shortly after take-off. But he was awake for the second hour of the flight and screamed for the last twenty minutes while the plane landed. I felt horrible for everyone around us. S-Boogie, at least, was an angel on this flight. It's amazing how much fun she can have with a notepad and pen.

And so I am now home and looking forward to sleeping in my own bed once again. As much as I like the idea of traveling, the truth is that I enjoy coming home about as much as being on vacation.