A few weeks ago a miracle happened in my life. My ongoing, no-end-in-sight, research project, by some stroke of divine intervention indeed came to an end. And this was just
three days before my family touched down on New Zealand soil for two weeks with us. I had been bracing myself for the reality that I would have to spend my days in the lab collecting data when my family was here because this type of research runs on an unpredictable schedule and things hadn't been going to plan since day one. So I cannot tell you the incredible joy I felt to know that I would be done with this (successful! yes!) project and not have to worry about it while the fam was here.
The day my experiment ended I spent the morning in the lab tying up loose ends and then staggered out of there wondering, "Am I
really done with this?!". The following day I slept for 12+ hours, something I haven't done since I was a teenager. Even with those extra REM cycles on board I had no trouble sleeping that night either. :) Who knows how much sleep I
still need to catch up from all that madness. Anyway, Tim and I spent the next couple days preparing for the family's arrival; we picked up the keys for the rental house where they would be staying in Evans Bay. To say it was a gorgeous accommodation would be an understatement. We've come to realize that many buildings in NZ tend to lack insulation and/or need to be renovated. So when we took a tour through the place we were flabbergasted at how beautiful it was. Hell,
we wanted to stay there. :)
After we looked in all the rooms, closets and cupboards we took a trip home and collected a bunch of kitchen stuff that we knew we'd need when preparing meals over there. Next, we bused out to the house and unloaded our goods. With shopping list in hand we walked into a nearby suburb of Kilbirnie and picked up as many groceries as we could carry. This comprised numerous meals and snacks but we didn't even get to buying drinks. When you have to lug everything from the store you carefully consider your maximum carrying power. So the first things to wait or bypass altogether are liquids, especially those in glass bottles. Killer. We figured we would take a walk the next day and truck the drinks home then.
Tired and sweaty we bused back to our apartment for showers after which we collapsed into bed. Despite my exhaustion from work and the day's activities I had trouble sleeping because I was just too excited. It had been almost a year and a half since I saw these folks and even longer for Timmy so, needless to say, we were looking forward to it.
The morning came quickly and soon we were off to the airport by bus. I was giddy with excitement as we walked through to their gate. In NZ you can still do this. :) Then something unexpected happened and it caught me off guard. Before I saw any of their faces I started to choke up, tears sprouting in the corners of my eyes. I knew I was anxious to see everyone but I hadn't expected waterworks. First out was my brother, Landis, and bounding alongside him was my niece, Josephine (4 years). They didn't see me at first and were moving out of the line of disembarking passengers to wait for the rest of the group. On my way over to them the tears started in earnest, my lip was quivering and I was thinking, "What is wrong with me?! This isn't the happy face that they'll be expecting!". Then I caught Landy's (my longtime nickname for him) eye and rushed over for a big hug. And sure enough, his first question was, "Are you ok?". Sigh. I laughed as I choked back a small sob, wiping the tears from my eyes, trying to get a hold of myself. Gaining a bit of traction I knelt down to give Josephine a hug and kiss and ask her how the flight was. She confirmed that it was "pretty good". :)
Next, came my mom's husband Paul, my aunt Ange and lastly my mom, Linda. I had regained my composure through all these hugs until I got to my mom and then started crying again. I told her, "I don't know what's wrong with me", but she just smiled, a knowing "mom" look on her face. After another round of hugs we took a couple pictures of the troop and set off to intercept their bags before we quite literally stuffed three cabs full of people and luggage and made our way to the rental house.
From left to right: Linda, Landy, Bridget, Timmy.
Front: Josephine, Paul. Photographer: Ange.
