Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

over Toronto- on my way

over  Holland and empty tulip fields... we were TOO LATE for the TULIPS! 
Whaaaaahhhhh!

On my way home again....only the excitement and anticipation of seeing my family would see me looking this perky and cheerful in an airport after waking up at 4:30 am.  (Which was actually 10:30pm, our time)

 

I am home again from my wonderful trip to Holland and trying to acclimate myself to real life (and this time zone) once again.  I had very little sleep on my trip, and particularly on the travelling to and from-which demanded no sleep over two day periods at both the beginning and the end of the trip.  I tried desperately to sleep on the plane-but not such luck.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I saw so many beautiful sights in Holland and met so many wonderful people (Hello Hans!) and enjoyed such delicious food that *I* didn't cook and was surrounded by ancient buildings and incredible masterpieces painted by Masters and did so many things I had never done before in my life.  It was overwhelmingly good.

And yet, surrounded by thousands of people and beauty all around, it was surprising how lonely I found myself at times.  I missed the laughter of my own people and the understanding and listening ear of my husband and the snuggles and the flowers and the familiar food and the orchestra of nature lulling me to sleep and the good-natured smiles of people driving by and the taste of peppermint iced tea.  While away, I couldn't get this poem out of my head...

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain;
Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!
The birds singing gayly, that come at my call --
Give me them -- and the peace of mind, dearer than all!
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

I gaze on the moon as I tread the drear wild,
And feel that my mother now thinks of her child,
As she looks on that moon from our own cottage door
Thro' the woodbine, whose fragrance shall cheer me no more.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

How sweet 'tis to sit 'neath a fond father's smile,
And the caress of a mother to soothe and beguile!
Let others delight mid new pleasures to roam,
But give me, oh, give me, the pleasures of home.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

To thee I'll return, overburdened with care;
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there;
No more from that cottage again will I roam;
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
Home, home, sweet, sweet, home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home! 

~John Howard Payne

I was welcomed home with love notes and giraffe drawings, husband-made waffles, and irises blooming.  While I was gone the lilacs, azaleas, rhododendron came and went.  I missed them entirely.  I just barely got to see my bridal veil spirea in all its glory and the bleeding hearts have started to set fruit.  Thank goodness I didn't miss the peonies!  They are just about to pop.

It turns out, time moves on- with you or without you.  You may notice or you might miss it.  May I have eyes wide open for all the gifts that show themselves in my life, even if only for a brief moment in time.  From the wonders of Rembrandt to the glory of the iris in my own front yard.  This world is a beautiful place.

This week should be incredibly busy for me...before my trip, the weather was such (rain, rain and more rain!) that I could not till or plant my garden.  This is the latest I have ever waited for the garden and I can't say I am entirely comfortable with it.  So the gardens must be put in and the weeds towering over everything must be attended to.  And at some point, the children really do need to begin homeschooling again after a three-week-hiatus (maybe even four if this week continues at it has been...) so we can finally finish up the school year.  I will try to post photos of my trip as soon as I am able- but the vegetables must take priority!  You understand...I know you do.

Because I happen to know I have the best blog readers ever.