Mikey returned home on October 25 at 3:00 a.m. His return trip included a fifteen-hour layover in São Paulo, Brazil. Nope, that is not an exaggeration. He spent just over three weeks in Amarillo visiting his parents, his nephew, his nephew's wife, and their just-over-one-year-old son.
However, it wasn't all fun and frolicking. After about three days there, he came down with what seemed to be the flu. You know, the sudden onset of sickness accompanied by aches and fever. The odd thing was that I came down with the same symptoms on the very same day. So, we were both miserable, just 5,000 miles apart. One big difference was that he is much more familiar with which medicines to buy and take in the US than we are here. It also seems that flu medications are much stronger in the old country than they are here in Uruguay. It took us from Sunday to Sunday for the illness to run its course. Then it took another three days or so to recover to some semblance of normalcy.
With Mikey being in the US, we were able to order items and have them delivered to his parents' house. He left here with a backpack and a carry-on-sized suitcase. He came back with those, plus two large suitcases, one medium-sized suitcase, and two more carry-ons. That's how much extra stuff he brought back with him. So, yes, he was a mule! Given that we didn't move down here with a lot of clothes, most of the new items were clothing: T-shirts, collared shirts, pants, shoes, and even a new pair of cowboy boots.
Before leaving Connecticut, we shipped all the Christmas ornaments we wanted to keep to my sister in Texas. These included decorations we had bought while on vacation, ornaments featuring the dogs, the merman, and Star Trek ornaments. While Mikey was in Texas, he had Sally ship the box to his parents' house. So, at 3:00 a.m., I was greeted with a wonderful surprise: a little touch of "home." It was such a pleasant surprise!
He also managed to bring back Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, cranberries for cranberry sauce, and tomatillo seeds. Because, apparently, those are all essential items when relocating to another country!
He had a nice, long visit with his parents and even got to eat at Chuy's a few times. I'm sure that was a highlight of the trip!
As for me, I kept myself busy. I went to a caviar and wine-pairing dinner (amazing!), visited the Visual Arts Museum in Montevideo, and spent some quality time with Tyson. Someone had to hold down the fort while Mikey was off gallivanting around Texas!
It is spring time here in Uruguay. This time of the year the platanus or Banana tree bloom and drop feather like pods. You can find them everywhere. For many people, myself include. to have allergic reactions. Now that we are in November the pollen should clear up as we move into Summer.
Please remember to be kind to yourself and be kind to each other.
