Recipe for Homesickness

Get out your violins, I just need a moment of self-indulging, cry-me-a-river, self pity time, ok?

This is usually one of my favorite weeks in the entire year, every year. Three events collide in the same week making for seven days of celebrating, feasting, and cheering. My birthday, Thanksgiving and the Ohio State/Michigan Game all happen in late November. And all my memories of these occasions take me home with family: chocolate cherry birthday cakes, shopping with my sisters, planning and cooking with my Mom, kid tables and adult tables for the Thanksgiving meal, and buckeye necklaces and brats at 11am on Saturday, followed by football parties and tailgating. These things may seem totally trivial, and I know in the long term they are, but they are all the wonderful, fantastic, comfortable traditions I associate with this week in November. And I was here...a long, long way from there... where the family-ing and feasting and footballing continued without me...

My attitude this week was textbook homesickness. I've been moping and feeling pretty sorry for myself. Not only are we far away from our fabulous families, but Phil's not even here. I kept telling myself I could have made it through the week better if he were here with me. But alone, yeah, it's been really tough. Do you want me to tell you how long it's been since I've slept through the night without caring for my rebelling sleeper Zachary? Up every three hours with him...ahhh, it's beyond frustrating. And all through last night Lily was suffering from an ear infection...awesome. Long week...

I had things happening here this week. I wasn't necessarily crying all day in my sweat pants in bed. I had a very nice, quiet birthday pizza date with friends, and we were invited to another friends house for Thanksgiving meal. I tried very hard to express how grateful and appreciative I was for all their efforts. But to say my heart was heavy and my eyes were sad is probably an understatement. It was just a sucky week...and I'm so glad it's coming to an end.

Here are pictures of our lonely Saturday. We had plans, but we cancelled because Lily was so sick...a fitting end to the week. And after an emotional couple of days, I was happy to just wear a hooded sweatshirt, make chicken soup, and snuggle my babies. Next week will be better. It has to be. I mean, the Buckeyes won big, so things are definitely looking up!

(What I love about this picture...Zachary's "B"...yes, this disgusting thing is everywhere he is...and how messy my house looks...or is???)

(Little miss sick-o. She looks much, much better now after her antibiotics. I'm hopeful that tomorrow she'll be back to normal because she is one pathetic patient).

Sweetness

Lily loves to drink milk. But the only way we can get Zachary to drink milk is by making it chocolate milk. (A solution Phil thought of during our last trip to an American commissary in Italy where we bought our very own bottle of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup--I have no idea what the French equivalent is, but I should probably find out because this bottle is going fast).

And now that Zachary's super-duper-sweet-tooth has become accustomed to the extra sugar in his milk, he's been asking to up-the-ante lately.

He gathered all of this himself and brought it to me...(not in the picture, but on the ground in front of him...his plastic, blue cup)

"Mom, can you make my orange juice a little sweeter, please?"

For the sake of his insulin levels, my answer was, "no, buddy."

I cannot tell you how many times I've heard French people describe Zack as, "très sage". Smart. But my first adjective for Zachary will always be--sweet. Because when he snuggles me, it's as delicious and satisfying and over-the-top as a cup of chocolate orange juice.

Too Busy Having Fun

I don't know where the last three weeks have gone...oh, wait, yeah I do...

1. Unexpected and exciting visit from my husband. Gone for two and half weeks, home for ten days because of a broken ship--excellent surprise!

2. Sarah-and-kids trip to Naples to visit our very good friends. Five days of familiar, comfortable, friendship and laughs. On the American base in Naples the kids were able to go trick or treating, go to ballet class and eat fruit snacks. I took advantage of the Italian cappuccino, and the designer sunglasses on sale at the NEX.

3. A visit from my Mom. Ten action-packed days which included many fabulous lunches enjoyed on sunny terraces with a pichet of rose. A fifty kilometer bike ride on back roads through the rolling vineyards of Provence. A morning of kayaking (and swimming) on the Mediterranean. A day trip to Nice. And wine tastings at two fantastic chateaus.

And now I find myself realizing that all the excitement is over for awhile. Phil left again for his deployment while we were having our fun time in Italy. Coming home, we were all easily distracted by my Mom's visit. But now we have to make it to Christmas time before our next visitors arrive. I guess it's time to get back to our school-routines, learning French, and refreshing my email every two minutes. After all our recent adventures, I think it's going to be a long five weeks!