Home Sweet Home

We've been home for four days now and despite how excellent the trip was, it feel so good to be back!  The car company that drove us from our apartment in Yokohama to the Tokyo airport contacted us before the pick-up to say that all they had available was a full sized limo.  So Connor took his first limo ride and held his first champagne glass during the trip to Narita.

Connor was still getting over his cold during the flight, so he did not sleep, which meant the flight was not the same piece of cake that we experienced on the way to Japan.  It was all worth it for something that happened in the middle of the flight (while everyone else on the plane was fast asleep except the three of us) and is now permanently etched in my memory bank of wonderful moments.  I pulled out a container of cheese cubes and asked Connor if he would like some cheese.  He picked up a piece of cheese, got a huge smile on his face, turned to me and said with emphasis, "eat!".  This turned into a back and forth between the three of us saying "eat!" alternating with Connor actually eating pieces of cheese while laughing hysterically.  All three of us were cracking up and could not stop.  Possibly a choking hazard, but it was so funny, and this is the first word that we have heard him use intentionally.

We arrived home to a warm, sunny weekend with blue skies and palm trees swaying in the breeze.  It was a very welcoming scene.  Our house looked amazing, and during our time away we stumbled upon the key to growing artichokes.  Ignore them for a month.  We have actual artichokes now on the plants we put in over a year ago and have never seen action from!

 
It is such a luxury to be able to blabber to strangers in a language I am fluent in, to pop our clothes in the dryer and have them dry 45 min later, and to eat really good cheeseburgers.  And to see my life with fresh eyes upon coming back to it and realize there is absolutely nothing I would change.