Day 5: It Begins at the Airport

Prompt: I was at the airport, and...

I was at the airport, and we were both doing a fairly admirable job of holding back the tears that had been coming for a couple of days. We have mid-western practicality in our genes, so that's the way we do things. Having a daughter of my own now, I'd become aware of how sad I'd be if I didn't know when I'd next get to hug her. This is what I signed my Mom up for when I moved to Australia, and so it was with desperate sadness, but immeasurable gratitude, that I dropped her off at the end of  her first trip to Australia.

The conclusion of my Mom's visit was actually the end of our time with two overseas visitors, spanning over a couple of months. That airport drop off meant getting back to reality, which was a challenge after weeks of having so much of home here with us.

Two months earlier, we'd been at the airport picking up my friend A. I met A on the school bus on the first day of high school, making her the friend I have known the longest. We were both in theatre in high school and went to the same college, where we were also both in the theatre department. We're equally dreadful at keeping in touch, something we've long since let each other off the hook for, but we have one of those friendships that you pick up where you left off. Her long-standing friendship is an absolute treasure to me, so I was to the moon delighted when she booked a ticket to visit me and meet the Hushpuppy.

We greeted her with a dinner of kangaroo burgers (which is kind of hilarious, since we've never just said, hey, let's have kangaroo burgers for dinner, but this recipe is kind of amazing if you ever want to give them a try). During her two weeks here, we tried to show her some of Sydney, we got our Aussie animal fix with a trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park, we took a side trip to Jervis Bay, she went off on her own to Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef, and the highlight  for me was a day when I left Hushpuppy in Partner-in-Crime's care and we took a bus tour of some of the wineries in Hunter Valley.

It was a blessing to have such a dear friend here, one I never get to see nearly enough of, even before I moved to Australia. We had so much quality time for long talks and deepening our relationship. Plus, she was brilliant with the baby. There's no question that we have to make it a priority to see A as much as we can, so that she can continue to be part of Hushpuppy's life, as she grows.

A few images from A's visit.

About a week after A went home, my Mom arrived. It had been about two years since I'd seen my her, and this was her first time meeting her first grandbaby. Oh, the first meeting. All the feelings.

My Mom got to stay for a month, and we repeated a lot of the itinerary from A's visit. We did the kangaroo burgers and later kangaroo spaghetti because we had so much meat left over. We did Featherdale and Jervis Bay. We did a ferry ride to Manly, an afternoon at the Opera House, and a high tea,just the two of us. We also did a day in Canberra and spent an afternoon on the Harbour for the International Fleet Review. One of our most special activities was a tour with the winemaker of our absolutely favorite winery, Two Figs in the Shoalhaven. And, since she had a nice long visit, we had days where our big adventure was a lunch out, or taking Hushpuppy swimming, or working on her nursery. Hushpuppy was considerate enough to start crawling while my Mom was here, so it was fun for her to witness that milestone. 

Mom's visit.

It was with a lot of sadness that we dropped my Mom at the airport, and maybe the hardest part about expat life, thus far, is knowing that I've separated her from her little granddaughter - and vice versa - by such a difficult distance. Of course, we have Skype, and email, and Facebook, but for these truly meaningful human interactions, it begins and ends with the airports.

Today's expat blogger recommendation is Christie over at The Plunge Down Under. Christie is an American in Melbourne, and I got to know her blog when she and I were the only Australian competitors in the Expat Blog writing contest. She's a wonderful writer and shares beautiful pictures, as well. Give her a read.