Homecoming! Sandwich's Diary
So, 11:45 Thursday night, our taxi arrived. Mrs. S had her guys watching for it and the gate called down when it came into the compound. Up they went and a few minutes later, down they came, one with Leslie's suitcase lifted over his head, the other with my suitcase plus Naveen's checked bag, plus her two carry-ons. Wow, these guys are strong! There is nothing to them, yet they hoist 100 lbs. of luggage like nothing!
Since Wed. the tall, lost Sikh guy had been Leslie's taxi driver, and tonight was no exception. We hopped into the taxi-van and headed off through the streets of Old Delhi. Literally.
Now, I was awake when we arrived FROM the airport, and I swear that first scruffy driver took all highways to get us to the Sham Nath Villa. We were cruising through the empty streets going, oh, I don't know, 40 km/h.
Tonight we took every possible back way there was to get to the airport. It didn't actually seem to take very long, but it WAS stinky.
We arrived at the airport with a sleeping Naveen. The driver brought over two trolleys for the luggage and I laughed at him. I said, me, luggage. Her, baby. ONE trolley. Oh, ok.
We found our check-in point, checked in, navigated security (which Naveen didn't like. The nice young lady behind us in the long, long line gave him her Dairy Milk bar. This helped.
Once through security, we headed for our gate. At this point, everything begins to blur together as I developed narcolepsy and fell asleep every time I sat down. Naveen did pretty well, for having had only a 30 minute nap since 4:00.
We boarded without issue but once on the plane the militant flight attendant insisted that if Naveen had his own seat, he had to sit in it and be buckled. Lelsie tried to explain that he wasn't going to like it, and the FA basically said, too bad, maybe if you hold his hand, he'll be ok. Yeah. Right.
Taking off wasn't so bad. He didn't like it, but he was fairly distractable. (did you know that's not actually a word?) Fairly easily distracted. There.
The food was again horrible and I didn't eat any. I was sleeping. Naveen slept for most of the flight but kept rolling off the seat. Also Leslie's armrest wouldn't stay up, so she had to hold it up with her arm so it wouldn't fall and crush Naveen's head where he was lying on the seat. Finally, I rigged up my passport pouch over the back of the seat and around the armrest to hold it. Still, she didn't sleep.
For the landing, the screen said 8 minutes to landing, so we buckled Naveen in. He cried. We circled and 8 minutes turned into 15 minutes. He cried. The man across from us plugged his ears with his blanket. The FA never actually came by to check that he was buckled. Waste.
Our layover in Frankfurt was 3 hours and by this time, Leslie was fried. She had been up since 6:30 am on Thursday (it was now some random time on Friday). Naveen was a powerhouse. He was good, just busy and wide awake. He decided it was now ok to go more than 10 feet from her and would run down the hallway until he could just about not see her and then come running back. They went to the bathroom. They ate Parle-Gs. They drank pani. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I alternated falling asleep and taking Naveen to the window to see the airplanes (he goes with me now, short distances away, if he can still see Mommy).
Finally, we boarded our flight with NICE flight attendants, who brought Leslie a lap belt for Naveen so she could hold him for take off and landing. He was awake and playing for the first 3 or 4 hours. He didn't eat any dinner. Leslie got disgusting vegan meals (nothing against vegans, just don't order vegan on a plane). They were able to substitute it for the regular veg at least once. Naveen did not eat. I slept through snack and dinner.
With still 6 hours to go, I suggested she put him to sleep. She hesitated because she knew he would cry. I said, tough. There were other babies crying and that's just the way it goes on a plane. She laid him down. He popped up. She laid. He popped. He began to scream. He twisted, he fought, he climbed onto the floor. She picked him up. I thought about wrestling octopi. That's seriously what it looked like.
In the end, she stayed strong (what a mama!!), he gave in and subsided to whimpers, then fell asleep. YAAAAAY! I think he slept for 2 hours or so. Leslie dozed. I slept. I watched a movie. I slept. I watched a TV show.
He played happily the last 3 hours. She had bought some nesting boxes, little pill-sized boxes with mirrors and he played with these a long, long time, stacking, nesting, opening, closing. I had also brought stickers and he liked peeling them and sticking them up and down his and Leslie's arms. He played with his sunglasses. He ate biscuits. He crossed the aisle to me once or twice. He threw his sunglasses on the floor. He picked them up. He is an amazing little person, and probably Leslie doesn't think so, but I thought this flight was really smooth and he did so well. 10 hours is a long time!
Landing went fine. He was really tired by this point and fell asleep for the last 5 minutes of the flight.
American soil! He didn't like standing in line for immigration. When we got up to the counter, we found out she had to go to the "special room" with his packet. She got cleared, I was cleared and off she went. I went downstairs to collect our bags and wait. I watched the drug-sniffing beagle do his work. He did sniff out one suitcase, which his handler searched and found nothing.
After about 20 minutes, they came down and we headed through customs, which was a piece of cake. Then, the meeting!
They went ahead and I came behind with the trolley piled over my head with luggage, camera held aloft.
Leslie was expecting Simeon and the kids, but her parents had to work at their flea market--Friday is a super busy day, so it was to be a low-key reception.
Not so! Sim and the kids were there. Her parents, grandparents and some cousins and aunts! It was fantastic! Naveen did great, clinging to Leslie, but not crying when people came close to say hello. After a bit, he did get down and let people touch him, even. It was such a beautiful and joyous meeting!
We all hung around at the airport for 45 minutes or so and then people began to leave. I said good bye to Leslie, her mom and grandma hugged me. They are such a warm and sweet family!
I am so blessed to have been a part of this journey from the very beginning to the very end! It was amazing to watch and such a privilege for me, not to mention FUN! I feel like I got to have an amazing vacation (twice!) in the country I love, while participating in the miracle of building a new family. Plus, having done this twice, I have to say, I LIKE being the Aunty! All the fun without any of the exhaustion! :P
I continued my narcoleptic ways and fell sound asleep for an hour waiting for my flight. I had my arms and legs wrapped around my stuff, but I don't know if I would have noticed if anyone took one of my bags. I ate a sub from Subway and spent another $7.99 for internet access in the Dallas airport. I Facetimed with the kids. 5 hours is a long layover when you're almost home. 2 hours on the last flight is forever! I slept.
******, unbelievably, came to the airport to meet my 10:40 flight. He fell asleep at the regular time and then dad put a sweater and shoes on him, they went grocery shopping, then came to the airport. He grew 3 inches it seemed, while I was gone.
And so we got home at midnight, had a shower, and OH, I love my memory foam!!! Heaven.
Thanks, Leslie, for the opportunity to share this wonderful time with you and your family! It has been my joy!
Since Wed. the tall, lost Sikh guy had been Leslie's taxi driver, and tonight was no exception. We hopped into the taxi-van and headed off through the streets of Old Delhi. Literally.
Now, I was awake when we arrived FROM the airport, and I swear that first scruffy driver took all highways to get us to the Sham Nath Villa. We were cruising through the empty streets going, oh, I don't know, 40 km/h.
Tonight we took every possible back way there was to get to the airport. It didn't actually seem to take very long, but it WAS stinky.
We arrived at the airport with a sleeping Naveen. The driver brought over two trolleys for the luggage and I laughed at him. I said, me, luggage. Her, baby. ONE trolley. Oh, ok.
We found our check-in point, checked in, navigated security (which Naveen didn't like. The nice young lady behind us in the long, long line gave him her Dairy Milk bar. This helped.
Once through security, we headed for our gate. At this point, everything begins to blur together as I developed narcolepsy and fell asleep every time I sat down. Naveen did pretty well, for having had only a 30 minute nap since 4:00.
We boarded without issue but once on the plane the militant flight attendant insisted that if Naveen had his own seat, he had to sit in it and be buckled. Lelsie tried to explain that he wasn't going to like it, and the FA basically said, too bad, maybe if you hold his hand, he'll be ok. Yeah. Right.
Taking off wasn't so bad. He didn't like it, but he was fairly distractable. (did you know that's not actually a word?) Fairly easily distracted. There.
The food was again horrible and I didn't eat any. I was sleeping. Naveen slept for most of the flight but kept rolling off the seat. Also Leslie's armrest wouldn't stay up, so she had to hold it up with her arm so it wouldn't fall and crush Naveen's head where he was lying on the seat. Finally, I rigged up my passport pouch over the back of the seat and around the armrest to hold it. Still, she didn't sleep.
For the landing, the screen said 8 minutes to landing, so we buckled Naveen in. He cried. We circled and 8 minutes turned into 15 minutes. He cried. The man across from us plugged his ears with his blanket. The FA never actually came by to check that he was buckled. Waste.
Our layover in Frankfurt was 3 hours and by this time, Leslie was fried. She had been up since 6:30 am on Thursday (it was now some random time on Friday). Naveen was a powerhouse. He was good, just busy and wide awake. He decided it was now ok to go more than 10 feet from her and would run down the hallway until he could just about not see her and then come running back. They went to the bathroom. They ate Parle-Gs. They drank pani. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I alternated falling asleep and taking Naveen to the window to see the airplanes (he goes with me now, short distances away, if he can still see Mommy).
Finally, we boarded our flight with NICE flight attendants, who brought Leslie a lap belt for Naveen so she could hold him for take off and landing. He was awake and playing for the first 3 or 4 hours. He didn't eat any dinner. Leslie got disgusting vegan meals (nothing against vegans, just don't order vegan on a plane). They were able to substitute it for the regular veg at least once. Naveen did not eat. I slept through snack and dinner.
With still 6 hours to go, I suggested she put him to sleep. She hesitated because she knew he would cry. I said, tough. There were other babies crying and that's just the way it goes on a plane. She laid him down. He popped up. She laid. He popped. He began to scream. He twisted, he fought, he climbed onto the floor. She picked him up. I thought about wrestling octopi. That's seriously what it looked like.
In the end, she stayed strong (what a mama!!), he gave in and subsided to whimpers, then fell asleep. YAAAAAY! I think he slept for 2 hours or so. Leslie dozed. I slept. I watched a movie. I slept. I watched a TV show.
He played happily the last 3 hours. She had bought some nesting boxes, little pill-sized boxes with mirrors and he played with these a long, long time, stacking, nesting, opening, closing. I had also brought stickers and he liked peeling them and sticking them up and down his and Leslie's arms. He played with his sunglasses. He ate biscuits. He crossed the aisle to me once or twice. He threw his sunglasses on the floor. He picked them up. He is an amazing little person, and probably Leslie doesn't think so, but I thought this flight was really smooth and he did so well. 10 hours is a long time!
Landing went fine. He was really tired by this point and fell asleep for the last 5 minutes of the flight.
American soil! He didn't like standing in line for immigration. When we got up to the counter, we found out she had to go to the "special room" with his packet. She got cleared, I was cleared and off she went. I went downstairs to collect our bags and wait. I watched the drug-sniffing beagle do his work. He did sniff out one suitcase, which his handler searched and found nothing.
After about 20 minutes, they came down and we headed through customs, which was a piece of cake. Then, the meeting!
They went ahead and I came behind with the trolley piled over my head with luggage, camera held aloft.
Leslie was expecting Simeon and the kids, but her parents had to work at their flea market--Friday is a super busy day, so it was to be a low-key reception.
Not so! Sim and the kids were there. Her parents, grandparents and some cousins and aunts! It was fantastic! Naveen did great, clinging to Leslie, but not crying when people came close to say hello. After a bit, he did get down and let people touch him, even. It was such a beautiful and joyous meeting!
We all hung around at the airport for 45 minutes or so and then people began to leave. I said good bye to Leslie, her mom and grandma hugged me. They are such a warm and sweet family!
I am so blessed to have been a part of this journey from the very beginning to the very end! It was amazing to watch and such a privilege for me, not to mention FUN! I feel like I got to have an amazing vacation (twice!) in the country I love, while participating in the miracle of building a new family. Plus, having done this twice, I have to say, I LIKE being the Aunty! All the fun without any of the exhaustion! :P
I continued my narcoleptic ways and fell sound asleep for an hour waiting for my flight. I had my arms and legs wrapped around my stuff, but I don't know if I would have noticed if anyone took one of my bags. I ate a sub from Subway and spent another $7.99 for internet access in the Dallas airport. I Facetimed with the kids. 5 hours is a long layover when you're almost home. 2 hours on the last flight is forever! I slept.
******, unbelievably, came to the airport to meet my 10:40 flight. He fell asleep at the regular time and then dad put a sweater and shoes on him, they went grocery shopping, then came to the airport. He grew 3 inches it seemed, while I was gone.
And so we got home at midnight, had a shower, and OH, I love my memory foam!!! Heaven.
Thanks, Leslie, for the opportunity to share this wonderful time with you and your family! It has been my joy!
Comments
You guys sound like a great team. :)
Hoping you get to catch up on your sleep now.
Praying the transition to "home" goes amazingly well.
Home sweet home! Can't wait to hear how Naveen does with his family. :o)
Nancy
Renae.