A Beautiful Welcome Home

All things considered, I had a good trip back across the pond.  It was a teary good-bye with my dear dad at the Palm Springs airport but bulk head seating on the flight to Dallas was a bonus.  Any extra room always helps especially when you are full of emotion and plane travel affords, well, zero privacy unless you are in first class, which, clearly, I was not.
A dear friend who used to live in Stockholm who now resides in Dallas met me at the airport and we were able to spend a precious hour getting caught on our lives.  What a bonus to spend time with her instead of sitting in the terminal.  An added bonus was the delicious American style burger I consumed while we chit-chatted.  I did ask for an upgrade but alas, the flight to London was packed so no chance of moving.  Thankfully I had an aisle seat that I was able to just kind of hunker into.  I watched a beautiful film, Quartet, which did make me cry a little, ate dinner and conked out.  Slept pretty good most of the way to London.  The London leg proved to be uneventful as well.   Doug loves British egg salad sandwiches so I went to an airport sandwich shop, bought two sandwiches, two bags of salt-vinegar crisps and took them home with me for our dinner.  
I was so exhausted by that time that I actually fell totally asleep at the gate in London.  A kind woman came and woke me as boarding was completing itself.  I would probably still be on that bench if she had not had the kindness to bring me to my senses!
The plane to Stockholm was huge and virtually empty so I had lots of space for myself.  Good thing because the combination of extreme tiredness and sadness overwhelmed me and I found myself boo-hooing quite a bit on the flight.  Eventually I did fall asleep again which is really the best way to pass time on the final leg home.  
Speaking of home...it was wonderful to be greeted by my big, lovely, crazy dog and my adorable, wonderful, sweet, kind, lovely husband as well!  Tears, hugs, and stories over egg salad sandwiches fit the bill nicely.  While my eyes were burning out of my head and utter exhaustion had come over me, because of the 9 hour time difference, my body was ready to start the day.  I slept quite fitfully and finally at 3.00 got up to watch a little TV.  Eventually I went back to sleep.  I did notice that it was getting light outside!  But the combination of grief, sadness, and tiredness kept me in bed until 2.00 p.m.!  Not sure that is a good thing but it felt great.  We'll see if I can get some better sleep tonight.
Tanner eventually got me out of bed as he needed a walk and truth be told, so did I.  My beautiful city did not disappoint as the day was warm, sunny and just lovely.  Everything is now coming into bloom so it was delightful to take in the flowers along the way.  Tanner wanted to roll and roll in the new grass.  He likes walking but he loves to sprawl out on the grass as well!  The outdoor café scene was in full tilt, the water sparkling like diamonds and it all made me feel great to be back.
One of the great highlights for me every spring are the blooming cherry trees in Kungsträdgården.  
Located in the heart of the city, it is just a thrill when these beautiful blossoms grace the city.  I was so happy that I hadn't missed this rite of spring!  Literally hundreds of people were gathered to take photos, sit on the grass or steps and soak in the spring!  For many of us, the cherry trees blooming ensures that we really have put winter to bed for another year.  
The line to get ice cream was miles long and the mood was joyful!
I came home to do a little grocery shopping and make some dinner.  The paradox continues...I'm thrilled to be home and I miss my other home.  My heart wanders to my dad and to my mom.  I share a memory with Doug, a thought will make me laugh and still there are tears.  I love being home with Doug and I look forward to going to church and reconnecting with friends.It is good to share my life with my loved ones in my beautiful city.

Spring Psychosis

I walked into my kitchen early on Saturday to make coffee, as I do every morning, to be met with this scene outside of my window.  I thought, I better make it a double! It was April 14 and I could not believe that I was seeing snow.  Big, heavy, wet snowflakes were coming down in rapid succession and I do not think that blizzard like conditions was an inaccurate description.  Alas, Tanner needed to be walked so I resigned myself to the weather and took him out.  He had so much fun in the snow that it improved my mood.  And I knew it couldn't last, right?  I did feel a bit sorry for the wildflowers and daffodils who did not appreciate being wrapped in a blanket of white.  But I guess they've been growing in Sweden long enough to know that snow in April is just not all that uncommon.
Then I went to a long meeting at church in a basement room with no windows to the outside.  When I emerged at 5.00 p.m. I could not believe the beautiful evening that had been brewing whilst I was cloistered below ground.  While a bit chilly, the sun was bright, the snow was melting and hints of spring were back in the air.  We took another walk with Tanner, this one decidedly more lovely and dry and soaked in the beauty of the spring light that shines on Stockholm.  It was a three season day with the snow indicating winter, the temperature feeling like autumn, and the wildflowers indicating spring!  Summer is still lurking somewhere...we hope.  By Monday all the snow was gone from this pier.
 We walked out to Skeppsholmen and Kastelholmen.  The spring light grabbed our attention once again.  Most of the snow was completely gone and it was a lovely day to be out.   I had heard rumors that the cherry blossoms were thinking about blooming. With the snow over the weekend I feared that the blossoms would all be on the ground.  As we turned into Kungsträdsgården, I could see that they weren't in full bloom yet, but there was a definite effort going on!  The cherry blossom bloom is one of my favorite things here in Stockholm so I will be wandering down there regularly this week.  It is beautiful, of course, but definitely the most assuring sign that spring is here and summer will soon follow. There is a cherry blossom festival Saturday. If there is anything blowing around, I hope it's just loose flower petals!   
I do wonder however, how many more 2, 3, or even 4 season days we have ahead of us.