Ah, the holidays are winding down. Kind of. It was a little weird coming home from vacation, right into the holidays. We were stuck in Monterrey for 8 hours. We almost didn’t get to come home. The Tijuana Airport was closed due to fog, so we were stranded. Our flight was supposed to arrive in TJ at 12:40 am, but we didn’t land until 4 am. Luckily while we were stuck, someone let us use their phone to call my mom and let her know we were unsure about the logistics. Seriously! We walked around the entire airport looking for some kind of pay phone. Since we hadn’t really ever traveled before, we didn’t realize that our phones would not work. I guess I kind of knew that, but assumed there would be some kind of alternative. We couldn’t even use our data! I thought that was a little weird, but I guess we’ll be set if there’s a next time. It was so strange seeing everyone else being able to use their phones, but ours were basically a clock and a camera. It wasn’t even that good of a clock because they both stayed on California time, so we constantly had to do the math to figure out what time it was where we were. At least it did keep time, so that was good. Anyway, I couldn’t believe there was no type of phone we could use. I thought for sure there’d be something for travelers, such as us, that these things happen to. But no. Last week I wrote about the kindness of the people we met, and this is one of those tales. We walked around the entire airport looking for some kind of pay phone, to no avail. Then my wife asked this Starbuck’s employee if he’s aware of the kind of thing that we’re looking for. He wasn’t, but handed her his personal phone so we could make the call. He said it didn’t cost him, and wouldn’t take a tip.
That kind of kindness seems pretty rare. I
was glad my mom answered. A lot of people won’t answer calls from numbers they
don’t know, I guess she figured it might have been us. We let them know the situation,
and they were still onboard to pick us up. We were very glad to get on the plane.
My parents picked us up at 4 am Christmas Eve. So we got home, slept for a
little bit, did a little bit of shopping for the weekend, and then went over to
my parent’s house for Christmas. It was nice and relaxing. I put our photos
onto my laptop so I could give them the slideshow of our vacation. They seemed
to appreciate it. They are travelers, so they love seeing places they’ve never
been. Christmas morning, we woke up, had tamales, then had to get home to
prepare our food for Christmas dinner. Luckily, we only had to make a few side dishes,
so it wasn’t too bad, and doing the shopping the day before definitely helped. After
we got our food prepped, it was straight over to her mom’s house for dinner. My
wife’s sister, and her brood were in town. We don’t get to see them very often,
so my wife was excited. It’s a lot of chaos, so I was not so excited. I felt
kind of bad because we didn’t get anyone presents this year. With the trip, and
my wife changing jobs, it all seemed so unnecessary. But then, as we were receiving
gifts, and had none to give, it felt a little awkward. Her sister went over the
top! It was like she was trying to win some kind of contest. I know they aren’t
doing that well, so I don’t know what the actual fuck was going on, but it
seemed like a ridiculous display. My parents also came over. It was a little
awkward. I wish they had done presents before we got there, but everyone seemed
happy, so all was well.
My wife stayed with her sister as much as she
could. I chauffeured her back and forth. Wednesday, I took her up to her North
County job for the last time. I am so glad that’s over. She’s even more glad.
Then we spent New Year’s Eve with my parents. There were a lot of leftovers to
eat, plus we like spending time with them. They were gone most of our relationship,
so we’re making up for lost time. I also like using their cooking stuff, and
they’re very appreciative. We ended up not coming home until Monday! It was a
nice visit, I just didn’t think we’d be there that long. Then, come to find
out, her other sister came into town on Tuesday with her brood. This is who my
wife might call her “favorite” sister, so there was no way she was missing out
on time with her nephews. So my wife has been going over there every chance she
can get for the past few days. Busy, busy. I went over last night for dinner
and a visit. My sister came too. Both families are getting pretty close. It
seems to be appreciated by everyone. My mother-in-law actually came over to my parent’s
house for New Year’s Eve. Whoa, I think that may be the first time I ever
referred to her as my mother-in-law. Progress? I’m not sure. I still have
trouble recognizing that I am uncle to a bunch of people now. My sister hasn’t,
and won’t be, giving birth to anyone, so I don’t really feel like an uncle. But
I guess I am one. Anyway, the same sister who is in town this week, is here
again next week for a wedding. So, next week will be very similar to this week,
busy. And it seems like it’s going to be this way until at least March. Oh
well, at least I’m not bored.
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