Sigh.
Yesterday at this time I was walking along the beach in Virginia, soaking up the warm sunshine, feeling the cool breeze wrap around me, and dipping my feet in the fucking cold chipper Atlantic ocean without a care in my head.
Today? Not 24 hours later, I’m back in Ohio, sitting in my windowless office on a cold and rainy day, staring at my computer as I return e-mails and phone calls from students, attempting to stay awake with only one small can of Diet Coke.
Aaron’s stage combat workshop finished at 6pm last night, which is when we started on the drive for home. We knew it was going to be a long drive, although we didn’t plan on the periods of heavy rain that we had to pass through in the mountains. Nothing like flying down a 7% grade on the side of a mountain in the pouring rain to scare the hell out of you and keep you awake.
(Oh, and I would like to thank Coca-Cola, the makers of Vault. This blessed drink is a large part of the reason we made it home without stopping to nap.)
Luckily the drive was uneventful. Thanks to my good eyesight, even the opossum we encountered in Road Kill Alley lived to see another night. We pulled into the driveway at 3:30am, and we were both asleep by 3:40am.
It really hit me this morning just how much I missed Cordelia. When I woke up, my first desire was to race downstairs to see her. I quickly got dressed and walked down the stairs. Cordy’s back was to the stairs, so I quietly crept up to her to surprise her. As I got close, she turned to look at me, showed me the crayon in her hand with a half-smile, and then turned back to her coloring book. “I think the cats missed you more than she did,” my mom said in response. (She may be right – the cats were practically climbing up us when we walked in the door last night.)
While I’m a little sad that Cordy seemed to show little interest in seeing her mother, who was away from her for several days, I am glad to be back home. I spent an hour this morning sharing my breakfast with her and just sitting quietly beside her while she colored.
I wanted to share a few more pics of the trip. These are from yesterday – I spent more time at the beach, and also visited the Virginia Aquarium. While the aquarium was largely disappointing, there were a few good exhibits, including sharks and giant sea turtles.
The highlight of my day was petting a sting ray. I had no idea that they’re just slimy puppy dogs – the rays in the tank enjoyed being stroked and touched by all of the eager hands.
(Ah hell, I just realized how awful I look in that pic. Self-portraits are never flattering, are they?)
I remember going on a business trip and when I came back the kids were little and just like HI mom, and back to what they were doing.
I swear, the time factor must be different for them or something!
Glad you made it home safe!
Glad you made it home okay. “Roadkill Alley” type of roads are scary because whenever something runs in front of you, it’s a potential accident. And it’s SO GROOOOOSSSSS!
I think when you’ve been away and your child is non-plussed by your return it’s a sign of a well-adjusted and well-cared kiddo 🙂
Sounds like it was a great trip. How neat to pet a sting ray. I had the opportunity to pet a baby shark once, pretty cool. I bet your baby girl was so glad to see her mommy!
Petting a stingray, how cool! Well, at least the cats missed you. 🙂 It’s good she didn’t miss you, that means she wasn’t sad forever while you were gone, right?
I like the hat!
You pictures are awesome!! I am glad the trip went well!! UGH driving at night…we are planning a huge drive with our toddler that we start by driving at night!! Fun!
welcome home. who was the stage combat class with?
Looks and sounds like you had a great time! Was that in Virginia Beach? I wish I was there right now. I used to live close to the Outer Banks of NC and I MISS it so bad!
Awww, she missed you….she is just leading you on, I am sure…
Love the picture! Don’t be so hard on yourself…a woman is always her own worst critic when it comes to photos of herself….
cameo,
It was a workshop at Regent University with teachers from the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD). The workshop organizer was Michael Kirkland, and the teaching staff included Fight Masters Dale Girard and Michael Chin, and Fight Directors/Certified teachers (I forget who is what) Michael Johnson, John MacFarland, Rikki Ravitz, Scott Mann and Jeff Jones.