Homesick

This morning I woke up bright and early.  Then I checked my clock and what I assumed was seven in the morning actually turned out to be 1:30 in the afternoon.  That's what a nice dose of jet lag will do to a person.

You can imagine my bewilderment when a mere two hours later, the sky went black outside - a lovely little reminder that yes, I am back in Denmark.

Despite the fact that I was fully aware it would go dark halfway through the day, I did sort of feel like the universe was playing tricks on me.  After three solid weeks of autumnish weather and semi-sunshine in Georgia, the icy winds and overcast atmosphere in Denmark makes me feel like some kind of scientific study six hours ahead of her own schedule.

The day officially began when I walked into my living room and had a panic attack.  Mommy's Little Helper had woken up an hour before and decided it would be most useful if he did the unpacking.  So I spent the entire day untangling The Mess that was my apartment (literally and figuratively.  The kiddo got ahold of my craft box and wound up the entire house in a nice little knot of yarn.  Luckily he also tied himself up in the process so I didn't have to bother with him all day ... kidding, I untied him right after dinner).

I played The Paper Kites and finished unpacking.

I unpacked all the clothes.
I unpacked the books I brought with me from the storage unit, despite the fact that I have read them hundreds of times before and may not read them again while living here.  It just feels more like home having them with me.
I unpacked The Gilmore Girls and turned them on in the background.  (LORELAI: But what is a Danish without coffee?  RORY: The eternal question springs up again!)
I unpacked the stained glass pieces my aunt made for me and hung them in the doorway leading out to the back porch.
I unpacked the Christmas gifts and Isaac's toys and my paintbrushes and a little bronze turtle and a string of paper cranes.
And I unpacked the photos I had printed over the holidays.  Including this one:

{ Noah, Isaac, me, Sarah, Steph, Matt, Tim, Luke, Mom, Dad, Peter, Lydia }

And then I felt sad because I'm here and they're there.

Speaking of ... A mere eleven hours after arriving back in Denmark, Isaac showed me a picture of my parent's house, whispered "Outside, car, go home" in my ear, got dressed, packed his little toy bag, and went and stood next to the front door and waited there for a good half hour.  I didn't have the heart to tell him that we probably won't go back until next Christmas.

... I'm just going to pretend that's not true.