Just four days?

I know I'm late coming to blog about last weekend; but so much happened, and it was so emotional that I had to take some time in my own head to sort out what went on and how to write it all down.

As you may remember I was really tired at the working end of last week, and that affected my getting to sleep on Thursday night (3:30am if I recall correctly), and I had to get up early for a special breakfast on friday morning. My work friends had the doubtful pleasure of finally seeing me at my grumpy best on Friday, as I wasn't giving up a free meal (well, who would?). Of itself, breakfast was OK; and it was good to have people to chat to at that time of day. However, the trip home was most certainly not warm and pleasant, the way the Rule Book says that all early trips to work should finish!

I had a "hit a wall" moment when I got home and it took 3 cups of filter coffee and a phone call to mum to get my suitcase packed and myself and my luggage out of the door and on the bus to mum's house. Not the best start to a long weekend that means you'll be seeing people you haven't seen for over 6 months. On top of my low mood there was a motorway crash involving closing the entire motorway and sending the traffic through the town where I had to change busses, and my final journey was over 3 hours in the end.

I did make it safely to mum's and handed over the chocolate to make up the stock I depleted last weeked with the chocolate chip cookies that everyone was still talking about, got fed and spent the evening chilling with various family members and friends dropping by. Very good way to waste a Friday night if your feeling tired if I may say so.

Saturday morning we (mum, dad, P and me) climbed in the car and made the 2 hour journey to visit mum's sister and family. I haven't seen these people since August, and I'd been really missing them, so it was really good to see them and reassure myself that they are healthy and happy still in spite of the lack of visits. They were doing really well. Happy, healthy and living in an astoundingly beautiful part of the country. I didn't even know the area existed, and now I'm honour bound to check it out properly, camper that I am! Auntie cut my hair in exchange for a hairwash - nothing like a quick pamper to make life perfect - and P and the girls cleared off to the park until lunch was ready.

Lunch was a great laugh, twice as many people crowded around the table then the room could really take. People were sitting on the oddest items of furniture so there were enough seats around the table; and once we'd eaten the meal proper, and before dessert various people who will be forever nameless entertained everyone else by eating straight from the serving dishes and various other "not good manners" things.

The journey home was weird. I confess to not finding motor travel easy, and by the end of Saturday I'd clocked up 8 hours travel in two days. I firstly got travel sick almost as soon as we pulled away from the house and then fell asleep as soon as my stomach settled. The evening went by in a blur of friends and books and naps, not all in exactly that order! I did cry a lot in the evening, and I'm still working out exactly what for and why and whether I feel better for it or whether I need to cry some more. All I can think is that it must have been a combination of travel and the emotins of meeting with people I haven't seen for a long time.

Sunday was just sunday really. More tears; and Church for the first time since before Christmas. It was great. I do miss going to Church, and while there are most certainly good Churches here in town I do miss the one I grew up with and I can't really settle with any of the others. Lots old friends, some new ones, and some amazing and unbelievable stories about friends I've known a while.

On Monday, I helped mum, MG and K around the house til lunchtime, made the lunch and then dragged mum off for some quality time at a friend's house; where she couldn't rush around doing laundry, baking cakes, ringing friends and all the other hundreds of things my mother finds to do in a day. We had a great time talking about how we are and what we're doing and plans for next year when I'm dealing with the upheaval of Losing My Job.

As I said earlier, I don't find motorised travel the easiest or most restful thing in the world, so Monday night was a night of no food, lots of coffee and books in the bath before an early night. By Tuesday I felt like I'd had a week off work. So much happened over the weekend that it felt much longer then just four days away.