I did not think that I would go five weeks without writing to you, my dear readers, while I was visiting my family and friends in Southern California. But as you will read in my stories to follow, I had so many obligations and responsibilities taking care of my parents due to their poor health. By the end of each day I was emotionally and physically exhausted, which put my creative juices on hold. During the times that I was able to fit in real quality time with Jonathan & Liz and Joshua, I wanted to feel the experience, the high energy and the love for as long as I could – sometimes into the wee hours of the night, not able to write them down at the time.
But I am back now and focused and ready to share my stories with you of my visit. So here we go get ready for the ride:
After getting up and ready to go at 4 am, Steve drove me from Lincoln to Heathrow . I was prepared as I boarded the flight to Los Angeles, an 11 hour non-stop. I had my iPod with the airplane music playlist that I created, a few magazines and a book of word search puzzles. During the flight, I did all of the above, and talked to the guy next to me who happened to be an ex-professional football player for Newcastle United. I had a meal and a snack in between. Unfortunately there were no movies or TV programs worth watching (I usually catch up on them while on this long flight). I usually am able to sleep for a few hours but not on this trip as I was too excited about seeing everybody especially Jonathan, Joshua and Liz.
So with this extra time, my mind raced with thoughts of home – it has been 10 months since our last visit for Jonathan & Liz’s wedding in February. This being a long visit (5 weeks) I am planning on seeing a few good girlfriends, and when Steve arrives the next week we will visit with a few couples – being here to celebrate the holidays with the whole family. Then came the thoughts of my parents’ ill health and the condition that I will find them in on this trip (6th one in 3 years due to their failing health). So that filled a few hours of the flight. As amazing as it may sound that before I knew it, the fasten seat belt sign bing-ed on for our landing at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport).
Standing at the immigration queue, I was so excited knowing that my oldest son Jonathan was just outside waiting to greet me. I even was looking forward to the hour-long drive on a traffic packed freeway, giving us a chance to catch up on things uninterrupted – well, almost until the call I got a from my parents asking where we were and when we would finally get to their house – bless them.
Glad you had a great time and that the family was well.
The end of the journey is always fun when you get greeted by family.