Settling back in

Of all the things I thought about before and during our time in France and England, thoughts that ranged from landscape to love to transportation to family to the French language to politics and books and wine and cheese, there was one thought I never let enter my mind. And that thought was how much mail we would have to open when we got home.

Another thought I never once allowed to flit through my brain: how packing up is easier than unpacking (because when you are unpacking, you are also trying to get back to living a regular life, which is hard to do when you have bags and boxes and suitcases and laundry (clean and dirty) and groceries and lists scattered throughout your house). Not that packing up is such a great thing, either. Just that unpacking after a big trip is kind of a nightmare.

So while the burden of these mundane thoughts never troubled me once the last six months, I am fully in the midst of them right now, and although not feeling sorry for myself (such a problem to have, that we spent a wonderful time in France and now have to return to real life), I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I just spent more than two hours opening the mail. Our housesitter had taken the "important looking mail" to our great friend Phil, who is also a lawyer and helped us get our tax documents to my dad the accountant to be filed on time (other things you might not think about when planning a sabbatical... in Canada, unlike in the U.S., there are no extensions, so if you are gone on April 30, somehow, a tax return must get filed).What I was left with were some Christmas cards (very fun to read in June), six issues of My Big Backyard which the kids will be thrilled to discover tomorrow morning, an incredible pile of junk mail, and copies of our monthly statements for all the regular bills which we have set up for automatic payment online. It doesn't sound so bad, does it? But trust me. It was a LOT of mail.

And I don't even want to mention the unpacking. The mess. The fact that we still can hardly walk through the front door because that's where we left the luggage when we walked in last night...

There were a few highlights in this otherwise slightly dismal day, though. First... sleeping in and waking up in our own beds. Heaven. Second... Jack went to school this afternoon with great reluctance and a lot of nerves (he said to me on the way there, in French, that he is lacking confidence. He didn't believe me and John when we said it would be great.) He walked sooooooo slowly to his classroom.... and then was greeted with a hug (that was almost a tackle) from his fabulous friend Ailene, and then the whole class surrounded him, piling on hugs and hellos. As predicted, he had a great afternoon, and he will go again (eagerly) tomorrow morning for the end of school celebrations. Third, our neighbor across the street brought delicious muffins and her new, beautiful baby (and big brother and sister) for a quick hello on our front porch (she knew enough to not think of trying to come in!). And finally, we went back to Anne and Phil's for a quieter dinner tonight, and got to talk and laugh and tell stories and hear stories and enjoy good food and drop off a few trip gifts.

But the in between parts... not pretty. Not fun. But would I do it all again for the chance to go back to Burgundy? You bet.

Now... back to the mess. Or maybe bed. Probably bed!