Planes, Trains, (Buses), and Automobiles

Moira and I had a lovely weekend in Connecticut with my friend Jocelyn. Kaylon and the girls had a great time camping in West Virginia. If only Monday could have been so good.

Kaylon figured out this past weekend that the master brake cylinder is broken on the van. He managed to drive home safely, but didn't feel good about driving to Baltimore to pick me up. So, I had to use the public transportation available to me.

We drove to the airport at 12:30 and arrived at 1:00pm or so. We made it through security and then waited at our gate until we boarded at 2:00pm for our 2:30 flight. The flight went surprisingly well. I sat in the window seat next to a grandfather of 4 and a mother of 2. Moira amazingly fell asleep 15 minutes into the flight after eating only 3 bites of applesauce, which she finished when she woke up near the end of the flight.

We arrived at BWI, around 3:45pm, not having any luggage to retreive, and headed out to find the shuttle to the train station. We hopped aboard after a 5 minute wait. We got to the train station about 10 minutes late, and so had to wait 50 minutes for the next one. Outside. I suddenly remembered the granola bar I had stashed in my diaper bag, and had my lunch for the day. Some trains did not stop at our station, instead rushing by, at which point I had to cover Moira's ears because it was so loud. Finally our train arrived at 4:05pm.

I boarded the train, which thankfully was fairly empty since it was going towards DC, and I was able to nurse Moira discreetly and enjoy the airconditioning. After a few stops we arrived at Union Station around 4:30 or so. We headed to the metro station, managed to finally find a kiosk that worked and took credit cards, bought our ticket and headed to the metro cars. We crammed into the crowded, non-air conditioned car, realizing that we were in the middle of rush hour. Luckily Moira is quite the charmer, and people were amused, not annoyed by her presence.

Of course right before our switch to the orange line, our car had a malfunction and everyone had to empty the train, and it whizzed on its way. I caught the next train, and then switched to the orange line at the next stop. A nice gentleman made sure that I had a seat. Moira was getting fussy and I tried to entertain her with whatever I could find.

Finally our metro ride was over. We hurried out (I couldn't really run with her strapped onto me) to try to catch the right bus, which luckily had just arrived. Thankfully I had a seat there as well, but Moira started to lose it as we got onto the highway. I tried everything I could to stop her, and finally resigned myself to just consoling her. I barely noticed when her body slumped into me, but I realized she had fallen asleep. After a few stops, I finally pulled the line and got off at the Safeway near our house at 6:30pm.

At this point I was exhasted. I wanted to see my family, but I knew that I was in a horrible mood and didn't want my homecoming to be marred by my irritation. I started to walk slowly in hopes of changing my mindframe before reaching my destination.

I didn't have to.

I had only gone a few yards when I saw one small blond and one smaller brunette emerge from the path leading towards home, holding hands. They yelled "Mommy" when they saw me and started to run up the hill. I couldn't help the tears that pooled in my eyes as my emotions finally boiled over at the beautiful sight. I hugged them and kissed them as Liliana said over and over, "Mommy, I miss you!" and Grace woke up Moira with some kisses of her own. Kaylon was right behind them and I was able to uneloquently express my gratitude for the gesture.

We picked up the chinese food Kaylon had ordered from a store in the area and then walked home together. Liliana never let go of my hand. Grace and Kaylon prattled off adventures from their weekend, and I just soaked it all in. I was finally home. Sometimes it takes being away to really appreciate what you already have.