In December 2010 we traveled back to America for what I now call Tour de Disappoinment. Things started off badly when there was an issue at work that forced The Man to changed his flight which meant he wouldn't be flying with us. I've traveled extensively with the kids by myself but that doesn't mean it's easy and I was hoping to have a little help this time. I was also hoping to be tall but that didn't happen either so The Man left for the US before us and would be coming back to Singapore before us as well. Lovely.
I call the December trip the Tour de Disappointment because we disappointed people everywhere we went. When we got to someones house they were disappointed that we hadn't gotten there sooner. When it was time to leave they were disappointed that we had to go so soon. There just wasn't enough of us or time to go around so we spread misery all over the great state of Louisiana. It's great to be missed and all but I want people to be happy and it was tough to see the looks on peoples faces when we had to tell them goodbye. Watching tears roll down your grandmother's cheeks is hard. Knowing you're the cause of the tears is killer. Compounding the problem was the fact that we didn't know when we'd be back to the US so we had to leave without being able to tell people when we'd see them again. I was like a defective cheerleader trying to boost the kid's and our family's spirits and it was exhausting.
Of course it wasn't all bad. We met our new neice and visited tons of friends and family. We ate good food, felt a chill in the air, and tried to make the most of our limited time. The Man killed a nice deer on his last day in the US and I got the kid's pictures with Santa. We annoyed everyone by marvelling non stop at how cheap things are in America, how awesome dishwashers are, and how nice it was to drive again.
On our way to the airport to begin the 24 hour journey to Singapore both of my kids were crying and their grandparents had red eyes and wet cheeks. The benefits of the expat lifestyle are endless but the price can be pretty steep as well.
