As I write the tale of one departure, weāre currently on the road to our next departure, also to connect with the oma and opa, but also Lakeās never before met uncle, aunt and cousin in Arizona ššµāļø
10/11/21
Lakeās cousins had spent the night, so he was retrieved from his room before we could get him, and deposited into theirsĀ š
While Mike packed, I took a couple of pictures of photos in some of their old family albums, wanting some to compare as Lake ages.
I too helped pack obviously, even it wasnāt by being the one physically placing items into the suitcasesĀ š¤Ŗ
Doing that, room checking and tidying, preparing ourselves, the carry on, snacks, toys and travel distractions.
Mike as always, did a fantastic job of fitting in all that we had accumulatedĀ š
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We said our goodbyes to Mikeās mom, at their houseĀ šš
She had managed to squeak in one last bike ride with Lake, while weād been packingĀ š
They are much, much more composed and held together than my families goodbyes, but it was of course still sad, tears or no tearsĀ š
Mikeās dad drove us the long hour to the airport, detouring into town to find us one last snack bar.
Turned out there wasnāt a snack bar, so in its place, Mike got us a Turkish wrap. An acceptable substituteĀ š¤Ŗ
We were dropped off at the terminal, and thus, the trip home truly commencedā¦
The airport proved less entertaining to Lake, than it had been on the journey there, so some pre-occupying was attempted,Ā prior to our departure.
Starbucks was purchased for us adults, and I couldnāt believe my ears as the lady ahead ordered a cool lime refresher.
It sounded vaguely familiar, Mike said I should try it, and then, it clicked.
It was the drink that I had so loved, which was now discontinued in both Canada and the US, for multiple years?!
I ordered it, one, cool lime refresher with coconut milk.
One beverage enjoyed, every sip cherished and bringing back all the nearly forgotten longings, just as delicious as I thought it would be š¤Ŗš
āLucaā once again got us through pre flight/take off.
Lake did not sleep nearly as much as he had on the way there. He was pretty busy for a while, and not completely thrilled with the circumstances, but no outbursts or real crying episodes, thus, a complete success in my booksĀ š
Eventually I did get him to sleep, which did take a fair chunk of cajoling mixed with him laying, and kicking me, for 45 minutesĀ š„“š¬Ā (not aggressively, just in a unsettled way) and then I couldnāt put him down, or heād startle awake.
I gently handed him off to Mike, who had a row in front of us, once my arms were too tired to go onĀ š¤Ŗ
Mike found entertainment in Lakeās array of in flight occupiers for a little while too š
We made it to Calgary and got food, stretched our legs, and did the usual layover tasks and pastimes.
Come boarding time, we painfully took our seats.
The little plane making even me feel claustrophobic, muchless imagining how it made Mike feelĀ š„“
The chairs were like sitting on pieces of cement after our tired bodies were maneuvered into them. The hot air blasting us pre take off,Ā and the cold air surrounding us the rest of the journey.
Our drooping eyelids catching painful moments of uncomfortable sleep between head bobs, Lake sleeping splayed across our laps the entire time.
Finally we landed in Saskatoon a little before 9:00 pm. I humorously heaved all of our bags off the conveyer as Mike stood holding Lake and directing me which to grab next, as they all came out nearly one after anotherš
Large Mike standing, holding Lake and pointing, little Jess, dashing, heaving bags and depositing them just in time to grab the nextĀ š¤Ŗ
My parents were our chauffeurs home, and during the drive back, we were entertained by the northern lights.
A pleasant welcome homeĀ š
There was an array of goodies waiting upon our counter as well. Bread, cookies, muffins, and fridge necessities having been dropped off by familyĀ āŗļø
Lake had fallen asleep on the drive home, and had actually stayed asleep during the transfer from the truck, into the house, speaking volumes of his tirednessĀ š
We too quickly went to bed, all sleeping soundly until around 5:00 am.
And so, the retelling of Lakeās first trip to The Netherlands, has finally been completed.
Much, MUCH later than I anticipated, but I persevered, making it to the end, and did those of you reading this as well.
I applaud us allĀ š
Post script ā¦
The yard was covered by a thick blanket of leaves, in all their various shades of fall splendour.
After a morning of lounging, coffee drinking, and slight unpacking, we all headed out into the yard to play in/begin the clean up, of said leaves.
Atlas joined in, and a while later, the cousins had to come over for a hello as well, having been missedĀ šš
That was on the 12th.
On the 13th, a spot showed up by Lakeās mouth, which I didnāt think much of, as kids get little spots that often disappear the next day.
He was a bit warm, unsettled and come evening, a couple more spots had appeared on his hands, and feet.
I then put it together.
Hand, foot and mouth had been going around in EuropeĀ š¬
By the 14th, he proceeded to become more, and more blister covered throughout the day.
He was still eating, drinking and generally happy, so that was a big blessing, but the blistering looked so terrible it hurt our heartsĀ š¬
I had to take him for a walk later in the afternoon that day to get him to settle enough for a bit of a nap.
Sad to have missed the part of fall, pre the actual āfallā part, wishing I could have seen the orange hued foliage upon the trees and not the groundš¤Ŗ
October 15th I called the doctor to just double check that what he had was indeed hand, foot and mouth, and it most assuredly was.
She said in efforts to not spread it, we needed to stay away from people for 24 hours at least, after we noticed no new blisters appearing.
So, we didnāt have to quarantine after coming back from Europeā¦ but then Lake and I kind of had to anywaysĀ š¤Ŗ
We didnāt go out and see anyone until the 21st, knowing how contagious and unpleasant it is.
Thankfully, the one day he had seen the cousins before we realized he had anything, hadnāt resulted in any of them contracting it, and neither Mike, nor I got it eitherĀ šš»
An older cousin we seen even later than the 21st, for only a small amount of time, did get it. Which seemed extremely weird and we felt very bad, but it was well passed the time period the doctor had advised us of, and literally all of the rest of us who spend much more time together, came through unscathedĀ š
Lake did amazingly with the jet lag once we were back home and settled in, post sickness.
Waking around 5:30 or so for a couple mornings, before settling into sleeping straight through from lay down, until 7:30 or even later.
(Thatās not the case anymore, but it was nice while it lasted š¤Ŗ)
The End
Jemstory 