For those whom I'm so thankful to have met during our brief stay in the US at the end of October, you know that I was just temporarily back on US ground!
Before starting this new post, I read the previous one. Counting my blessings for 2009...
2010 has been very different so far. Much more intense... middle-life crisis at full blast, let's put it this way... No fun. Everything seems to become jeopardized. And it's my fault. I need a piece of white paper to go on with my life and it's not the easiest when you're married with 2 kids. Well, don't worry too much, I'm getting as much help as I can, I still have wonderful friends who support (and bear!) me, and I'll get through it, in the end.
But I'll stop complaining about my being a desperate housewife (not even sure I'm that desperate, or even that being a working mom would mean being less desperate ;)!)... and tell you more about our great vacation in LA, St.Louis, and NYC.
Vladi had a conference in San Diego, and we took advantage of traveling with him to go back. Léa told me (in English) as we were landing: "Mom, we're not going to America, we're going home"... Yes, we indeed have a foot in each country, our hearts beating on both continents...
We started with a few days in LA... which is well known for it's great climate, as you all know. Well, not this year, obviously! It was rainy, cold, misty, and foggy. We took a trip to Seaworld, and didn't even need to go to the splash zones to get soaked, as our raincoats didn't do the job: I had to buy sweaters to warm us up!
Once Vladi's conference was over, we traveled to Saint-Louis, where we spent 6 beautiful days. Seeing old friends, some having even come from as far as Texas or Vancouver to see us was totally heartwarming and touching. Thank you Jenny, Catherine, and also Elke, who drove 4 hours from Indianapolis! Thank you Debbie for having us stay at your house, letting me be with you while you took care of your bees (the honey tastes really good!)! Thank you Kathy for "adopting" Léa for a few day as if she was your own daughter and inviting us to Candy-Apple making day! Thank you Jenny and Catherine for the excellent moment spent on the Pastries of Denmark terrace, speaking our hearts open.... Thank you Ganesh for letting Jiothy go to the breakfast with our "Monday Morning Whispering Hills Mom's group"! Thank you Cari for letting us visit Meramec school and welcoming us so warmly! Thank you Samuel's Church Choir people, for showing so much happiness at my being present, and thank you for the music notes you gave me, Neal! Thank you all of you, my friends, for showing us so much affection! I'm still very moved when I think of all of you. You are all unforgettable and I love you all! Shall I count my blessings now? You are each of you, one of them!
I'll post some pictures of these days... it might take a while though... uploading all of them!
After this "honeymoon" kind of vacation, leaving St.Louis was hard. We still had a few days planned in NYC though, and all went well. Our hotel was located across from Manhattan, on the Hudson River (you remember the plane that landed on the water in January 2009? well, it was practically in front of our hotel!), in Weehawken. In hardly 15 minutes by bus we were in the middle of Midtown! Close from Time Square, where we became almost dizzy the first night!
We took a boat trip to the Statue of Liberty, walked and walked through this crazy, sleepless city. We met Anaïs, our cousin, and went up the Empire States Building. Lots of fun and good time! I also enjoyed meeting 2 French friends and have lunch with them.
The 2 weeks went by... and we flew back home... Kids went back to school this morning, plagued by the jetlag (we slept much too late yesterday morning!)... but we all keep a great memory of this vacation!
OK, now... do you have time? Because you can watch the pictures of this great trip right here: Enjoy and comment please!
I'm so grateful because seeing you, my friends, has given me so much energy... I'll really improve my keeping up with this blog. Comment, and ask things you want to know and see about our lives in Switzerland! I'll be happy to add more content!
Love to you!
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1 comment:
Caroline, thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures! We really loved having you back, even for a short time. I hope you have a very good year.
I didn't know you were feeling a midlife crisis...you do have so many wonderful things in your life and have touched so many of us and made us happier. You are leading a fruitful life and should enjoy the fruits of your spirit.. joy, peace, love XOXO - Kathy Poor
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