We Have Arrived!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 (I think!)
The day is finally here. After months of discussions, “ifs, ands, and maybes” we are finally here in Warsaw, Poland. How does it feel? I don’t know. I’ll tell you in a few days. Right now, I’m basking in the joy of having maneuvered a foreign airport and found our hotel on my own and finishing the day with a beautiful dinner at the hotel restaurant. Most of the airport issues are just your average, day-to-day airport issues spiced up with a language I don’t know. Yes, there were translations into English but I still feel some pride in negotiating Elizabeth and me through the passport check, luggage pick up, and locating our hotel—not the simplest task of the day even though it is almost attached to the airport! Once I found it, I was able to get through the check-in process and get the two of us up to our room with all our bags in short order. We then just relaxed a bit—showers were at the top of our list of things to do—and waited for Easel who was on a later flight. When we were reunited and he had a chance to clean up, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
In my experience, after an extremely long flight, I’m not usually ready for a big, heavy meal. Easel and Elizabeth agreed with me so we had a light supper with a Polish accent. Easel ordered pierogies (pronounced: “pee-rosh-kees,” with the “o” sounding like the “o” in “rose”), Elizabeth ordered a light chicken broth with vegetables, and I ordered borscht. We had eaten pierogies before—we learned about them when we lived in Chicago—and chicken soup is pretty much chicken soup wherever you have it but the borscht was something totally new to me. When the waiter brought it, I thought it was the most beautiful bowl of soup I had ever seen! It was a lovely fuchsia color with darker purple bits floating in it. I wanted to dive into it! I took my spoon, dipped it in and took the first sip. It was cold and absolutely delicious! I wasn’t expecting it to be cold but after a long day of travel, it was the perfect choice. It is hard to describe all the different flavors in that one bowl of soup. They all blended together and yet they were also distinct. The surprising flavor and ingredient was pickle. The soup also contained large pieces of boiled egg, pieces of turkey and cabbage (the darker purple bits). I will definitely be ordering that soup again and looking for a recipe. It is a beautiful, cool, and delicious summer soup. We accompanied our dinner with the wonderful bread basket the waiter brought shortly after we sat down. After we had eaten and enjoyed our soups and pierogies, we decided we would have dessert. Easel ordered Tiramisu, Elizabeth ordered a “butter cake” with vanilla mousse and fruit, I ordered “coconut fantasia” with fruit. Again, we were not disappointed. We all enjoyed our desserts but Elizabeth and I were surprised with ours. From the descriptions and/or names of our desserts we were each expecting something cake-like. Wrong on both counts! Elizabeth’s was two lovely almond crusted cookies sandwiching the vanilla mousse and berries. Mine was like a cream cheese mixed with coconut and some sweetening agent molded into a dome with berries in the center as well as around it on the plate.
This blog will not usually center on food but as I explore Poland, I will explore foods that are new to me and I will write about my reactions to my exploration. If my first meal in Poland is an indication, I may be writing about food quite a bit!

The End of an Era

Saturday, June 21, 2008
One week ago I was preparing to fly to Alabama for my mother-in-law’s funeral. We have made it through the funeral and the awkward few days with family. Family relationships could be the topic of blog but I’ll save that for another day.
We (Easel, Elizabeth and I) have spent the last few days on the “Francis Roberts Memorial Tour”. As a way of honoring his mother, Easel has taken us to some of the attractions in the Huntsville area that his mother would have encouraged us to visit. This was also a way for him to say “good bye” to Huntsville because he doesn’t expect to return in the foreseeable future. We’ve visited some places he saw with her on his visit a couple of weeks before her death. We’ve been to the Space Museum, the Burritt Museum, and visited the Big Spring. It has been a good week.
We’ve looked through old pictures and visited with his aunts. We’ve spent a little time looking through the massive amounts of “things” left in the house. Behind every door, in every chest, and inside every drawer are more and more treasures. We’ve found photo albums with pictures of ancestors piled in cabinets with antique glassware and silver. We’ve found furs, baby shoes and baby books all piled together. It is obvious that some things were just put in a place with little regard to what was stored with it. It reminds me of the way I’ve cleaned my house when unexpected guests arrive—shove things in a drawer or a closet just to get them out of sight!
We will soon finish our visit and begin our journey to Warsaw. This has been a sad interlude but at the same time, it has been a good time to look back. Who are those young people smiling from those photos? Who knew Pop and Toots (grand parents) or Frances and Zeke (parents) were ever that young? Who knew WE were ever that young?

Flying Sardines

June 14, 2008
Many people have talked about the “joys” of flying these days. Traveling to Nashville from Kansas City is thankfully a short flight. We were in the air for less than two hours and my only problem when we landed was an aching elbow. You may be curious about that particular ailment. It was entirely my own fault. I have flown on Southwest many times and my family has flown on Southwest. I know that when you fly on Southwest with an “e-ticket”, you need to print a boarding pass from your home computer several hours before the flight if you have a desire to get a decent seat. I forgot to do that. In the flurry of trying to finish things up around the house before leaving it for Poland by way of Alabama, I simply forgot about the boarding pass. I knew I was in trouble when I finally remembered and tried to print one and got the message, “All online boarding passes for this flight have been completed. Please proceed to check-in to receive your boarding pass.” How scary was that? There was nothing to do but go to the airport. We checked our bags and received a slip of paper printed with the words: “THIS IS NOT A BOARDING PASS. PROCEED TO THE DESK TO RECEIVE A BOARDING PASS.” After going through security—always fun!—Elizabeth and I went to the desk and handed the agent our forms.
“Would you be willing to take a later flight for compensation?” I should have said, “yes” but I didn’t. I had told Easel we would be arriving in Huntsville by 6:00 or 6:30. Taking the later flight would have put us in Huntsville around 9:00. So, I said, “no.” Besides, I had no desire to get to Nashville by way of Chicago or to spend a couple of hours hanging out in an airport in Chicago.
We were in boarding group “C”. Of course, the plane was totally full. We were separated because there were no longer any pairs of seats left. Elizabeth found a seat close to the front. I ended up in the back of the plane and my only choice was the seat next to a large gentleman who had already claimed the armrest separating our two seats as his own. I gingerly searched for the second half of my seatbelt because it was not visible and I really could not see myself feeling around his rather imposing derriere to find it. Luckily, I quickly spotted the end of the belt sticking out between our seats! I sat through the entire flight trying to keep my left elbow from encroaching on “his” armrest and feeling his arm against my ribs. This caused my elbow to be hyper-extended through most of the flight. My seat-mate however, enjoyed a nice little nap!
I spent some time on the flight thinking about personal space and that this was an unusual occasion where I would have a man, other than a family member, in physical contact with me for nearly two hours. AND, without saying a single word! It is amazing to me that someone can maintain physical contact with another person and literally ignore their existence. I spoke to him as I was getting to my seat and received NO response. The woman to my right and I exchanged pleasantries and then proceeded to accommodate each other throughout the flight. Aren’t people interesting?

Heading for the Door, but...

When you travel, if you are wise, you expect things to happen that you didn't really plan. Things like the highway detour that makes you late for your flight. Or, the "ho hum" stop that turns out to be the highlight of the trip. As we prepared for our trip to Warsaw, we tried to think of all the issues we would face and figure out how to handle each one. What we didn't plan for was a death in the family. Easel is in Poland and Elizabeth and I are still here. Now, there are flights to cancel, flights to arrange, other arrangements to be handled, and a funeral to attend.

Easel's mother had not been in good health for the past few years but it wasn't that bad, or so we thought. She went to the hospital a day or two before Easel left for Poland. He had just returned from visiting her a few days before. He was shocked to get the call from his aunt. He called on family members for advice wondering if he should postpone his trip. He talked to the hospital. He talked to his aunt. He talked to his mother. Everyone said, "Go ahead and go." She was diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and we were told, "she's sick but she will get better." Unfortunately, she refused to eat and went downhill rapidly. She went to the hospital around May 31 and died in the early hours of June 12.

I'm not sure how I feel right now. I'm sad for my sister-in-law because I know how hard losing my mother will be for me. I'm sad for Easel because this is going to be very difficult for him. Now, he is the oldest member of his family. Adding to the grief is that this is happening on the eve of his "great adventure". We will get through this but it will take some time.

One More Thing

June 2, 2008, Monday
In the midst of trying to pack and get organized for moving to Poland, we had to attend freshman—excuse me, First Year Student—orientation at Truman for Elizabeth. This is so strange. It is something I’ve looked forward to for such a long time, possibly since I accompanied Jared, our oldest, to William Jewell College 10 years ago, and yet it is hard to believe we were actually there doing it. We’d even been talking about this exact date for almost a year! I was a little disappointed in the schedule they had for parents. It was several “classes” about “Sharing the Journey”, “Liberal Arts Education”, “Wings and Roots”. I went to some and went to lunch but I didn't go to all of them. I was suffering from a severe case of “been there, done that” or to quote Yogi Berra, “It’s déjà vu all over again!”

I had my computer with me to record my thoughts as the day progressed. I didn’t enjoy the first session. Some information was worth the time but most of it could have been in a handout and I would have been happy to read it. I skipped the second one. With no information other than the titles, I couldn’t choose between the two offered in that time slot! I need to email the Admissions department since they were in charge—I think! The lunch meeting was better. Although I don’t think they were adequately prepared for the number of parents. My salad was a bit skimpy for lack of lettuce. The question time was interesting and I did hear some good information. After lunch, I went to the first afternoon session. Again, give me the handout and please DON’T read the power point presentation to me! But, of course, that's what they did. I will say that the meeting gave me something to think about with regard to Elizabeth, finances, and whether or not she needs a car. Once Elizabeth finished her afternoon meetings, we headed for home. Overall, it was a very successful day. She seems to like the school more with every trip we make. I hope it continues after she starts classes.

Spending the day at Truman was great but we still have to continue with our travel preparations. We are dealing with several things as we prepare for this trip. All the obvious things; how do I pack for a year, how will I manage the language, will our son be OK as he handles both of his jobs and the house, and so on. Then, there are those other things, which seem to be multiplying, such as my last child going to college, Easel and I beginning our "empty nest", Easel's mother in the hospital with COPD, and a little health scare for me. The college thing was coming anyway and we've been preparing for that for a while. It's the same with the empty nest. Both of us are active and have many interests which will allow us to miss our children but not desperately. The health scare is resolved which just leaves concern for Easel's mother. At this point, we have to leave her in God's hands. Until we have more information, there is nothing we can do. Not a position that is very comfortable for either of us.

Final Days Before Departure

June 1, 2008

Today the adventure finally, truly begins. Easel left this afternoon to start his trip Poland and probably won’t be back until April—barring problems that would force his return earlier. Elizabeth and I will follow him in two weeks. That is probably scarier. He has been there. He has some experience with the trip. Elizabeth and I really don’t know what we are in for! I went to Thailand a few years ago for a mission trip. That wasn’t too hard on me because others were in charge and I just followed instructions. This trip, Elizabeth will be depending on me to figure things out as we go along. It’s been years since I’ve been through O’Hare airport but I’m confident that with a ticket and someone willing to give directions—if I can’t read the signs well enough—I’ll be able to find the LOT gate I need and we will make it from Chicago to Warsaw.
Easel’s flight left on schedule, as far as I know. He didn’t call so I’m assuming the best. It was a little hard and a little scary leaving him at the airport this time. We are truly beginning this journey! Actually, it is almost like Poland isn’t the hardest part of all this. Going to Poland is hard, scary, exciting, anxiety-building and great. The hardest part will be coming back in August and leaving Elizabeth here while we go and “do” Poland. She will be starting college and we will be starting “empty nest”. Both things are good but both will be hard—at the outset. I’m confident (or at least hopeful!) that time will make things better on both fronts. At any rate, the next “thing” is orientation at Truman and then a phone call Tuesday morning from Easel to confirm that he arrived safely.