We left the US yesterday in ice-cold temperatures and with several centimetres of snow lining the ground. The unhelpful dickhead driver of the bus that took us from Providence to Boston didn’t stop at terminal A of the airport, so we had to get a porter to ferry our huge pile of luggage across the concourse and up and down the intervening lifts until we were finally where we needed to be.
Unhelpfully and illogically, the bus also drops you at arrivals, not departures, so even finding a porter was a bit of an adventure.
That was the only hitch, though. Tanked up on business lounge nuts and drinks, we made a relaxed entrance onto the flight and, given that the return leg was a night flight, we really appreciated the ability to recline almost horizontally in business class.
Our flight was delayed only as long as was necessary to de-ice the plane, after which it was a smooth ride all the way back to Amsterdam.
We arrived about an hour later than scheduled, but given that we were comfortable and it was the middle of the night, as far as our body clocks were concerned, this was actually a bonus.
Our luggage rolled off the conveyor belt very quickly and we were back at the house by 10:00, which was pretty good going, given that we hadn’t even landed until after nine. We went straight to bed and emerged some four hours later, in time for a late lunch.
The worst thing about arriving back from a long trip away is the chores that await one: an essential trip to the supermarket, picking up packages that couldn’t be delivered in our absence, etc. The cold and the icy conditions made the bike ride less than ideal, but at the same time, it felt good to be back on two wheels and getting some exercise again.
Speaking of which, the Wii Fit complained this evening when I weighed myself for the first time in seventeen days. I’m back in the overweight band, but I’m confident I can get back to ideal in fairly short order. Getting back to the lowest weight I attained before our trip will take longer, and there’s also the hiatus that my operation in a little over a week will impose. Ugh.
My first workout of the year was predictably heavy going, but as with the biking, it felt good to be exercising again. I worked up quite a sweat, which I hope will reveal itself in tomorrow’s weight measurement.
The children don’t know whether they’re coming or going and are having real trouble sleeping this evening. You could say that it’s to be expected, but it’s usually a lot easier for them than it’s proving this time. With a 07:00 start tomorrow, it’s uncertain at this point whether Eloïse will be in any fit state to go to school. We’ll see.
As always, it’s great to be back home, but it’ll be a lot better once the children’s bodies have adjusted. Lucas, in particular, has had a rough time of it today. I hope the night will be better.