It looms ahead of you for months, months of thinking in the back of your mind, "we're going to England this summer!" Months of saving. Months of growing anticipation.
And then you go on your vacation, and see your beloved family members, and have such a wonderful time. But 12 days of fun go by quickly, and next thing you know, you are back home. Back home, with your happy cat and your own bed and shower and washer and dryer. Which would be perfect, except you are back to being far away from your grandfather and cousins and aunts and uncles. Rats.
It's always been this way for us. My father moved to the United States at the age of 28 to marry my mother. They met on a teacher exchange. For a fall semester in the late 1970s, my dad lived in my mom's apartment and taught her students in Michigan. Meanwhile, my mom was in Nottingham, England, living in my dad's flat and teaching his students. The exchange took months of preparation, during which time they wrote and met each other. And just like that, at the end of the exchange, they were married.
Pretty crazy, eh?
Having relatives across the pond has always been pretty cool. How else would we have been allowed so many visits to the non-tourist avenues of England? We woke to unfamiliar bird calls and the rustle of curtains in the breeze. We were coaxed from bed by the scraping of butter on toast and the sound of our grandpa setting out cereal boxes and milk in the breakfast room. We hung our laundry to dry in the back garden and stared at family pictures hanging on the wall. We took turns going to the homes of my father's siblings and my cousins, enjoying tea and a myriad of cakes, scones, and shortbread, while talking as though we just saw each other the previous week.
Of course, the downsides with each of our visits to the UK are the many goodbyes that loom ahead. It rolls out in phases as we move through the week, when we realize it will be the last time we'll see a cousin or aunt or uncle. My lovely cousin Lizzie was our first goodbye, and we only got two days together. After five years of separation we enjoyed two days of togetherness, and then were faced with another goodbye. That's where having family far away can seem like the most unfair situation in the world. It crushed me when I overheard my grandfather tell my mother that each time he says goodbye to us he considers that it could be the last time he'll ever see us. My whole life, even as a little girl, I have always thought of this when saying goodbye to my grandma and grandpa. You can pretend to ignore that possibility, but it is really how it is. And after saying goodbye to my grandmother after our visit in 1996, it was.
Thankfully we don't let this get us down during our visits, and truly attempt to make the most of every single minute. And on this trip we really had a blast. It was fantastic for my sister and I to make the journey with our partners, so that they could finally meet many of our family members and see England for the first time.
Another very pleasurable part of this trip was the weather. During our time in England it was in the 60s, and it got into the mid-70s during our big touristy day in Paris. Glorious. If I could spend every summer day carrying along a long sleeve option for when the sun went away, I would. And, I think that the insect population in the Midwest USA must outnumber that of the UK and France 5,000 to 1. Imagine keeping your windows wide open, with no screens. Imagine sitting outside into the evening hours without being bit to shreds by mosquitoes. Nice thought, isn't it? Now I am sitting at home in hot and humid Chicago refusing to drag my 27 week pregnant body out of doors if I don't have to. Next week it is going to be even hotter. For future pregnancies, I must consider living in England for the summer duration. I'm sure work would understand...
We took literally thousands of photographs, and I've found a small handful to post here as a brief summary of the visit.
Let's see, where to start?
I learned how swollen a pregnant woman's ankles can get on a trans-Atlantic flight (like my fashionable support hose?)
We were able to see some pretty amazing sights in York, the Yorkshire Dales, Cambridge, London, and Paris. It was very enjoyable getting to observe my husband's and sister-in-law's first viewing of these spots.
Sunset viewed from the upper windows of Grandpa's house on Axholme Road in Doncaster
Yorkshire Dales
York Minster
King's College Chapel, Cambridge
Random view in London
Paris
One of the couples in our group was lucky to have a terrace with this view! (hehehehehe!)
Hmmm, and how can I forget some of the food pictures? I weighed myself yesterday and learned I gained 7 pounds over the holiday. But seriously, could you pass these things up?!
The best part of the trip was the big family weekend, when everyone came to my grandfather's house. We posed for our traditional family reunion picture. Here we are back in 1985
And then in 1996
And now present day!
And with partners and my grandfather's great-grandson added :-)
As you can see, it was a wonderful 12 days. To Grandpa, Anne, Eric, Pam, Chris, Richard, Lynne, Sarah, Pete, Peter, Becca, Oliver, Helen, Giles, Simon, Liz, Craig, Dave, Stephanie, and the Fidler chickens Charlotte, Anne, and Emily- thank you for allowing us such a wonderful time. We miss you and can't wait to see you all again (and hopefully soon!). And for my mother and father, thank you so so so much for all the planning and organization that went into this trip!!! Thank you thank you thank you! And for my sisters and husband, thanks for being such fab traveling buddies.
Through the dining room window
The night of the giggles
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