Finally back home with Elizabeth

A long trip, a very, very long trip. I am so tired. Near the end of the trip Tamsin asked me, "would you like an egg with your breakfast". Simple question. My honest response was, "You decide. I can't make any more decisions right now."

Left the house a couple Sundays ago with Hannah (the eldest young lady left at home) as the "Woman of the House". You could see her visibly getting taller as she pondered the thought. A smile across her entire face and faultless posture.

It was a women's trip, women celebrating, women transitioning, women growing, women becoming. Cherie, Jessica's car, faithfully carried us through every stage of the journey.

At first, it was about Whitney. We got to look at how women have lived in the highlands over the last 5000 years. We saw a 5000 year old stone village (Skara Brae), a 2-3000 year old viking house (Shamrock house), a 2-500 year old croft home (Kirbister farm museum), layed down in a bed of heather by the roadside, walked around Dunrobin castle and had Whitney at the airport in Glasgow with 3 hours to spare before her flight. We dropped Erika off in Edinborough on the way.

It was now just me and Shannon and Abigail. It was Shannon's personality shining through. We connected with people. We stopped in to see Bea, Andy and Robin in Sheffield and had a cuppa. Maggie and Phouc-Tan were waiting to prepare dinner for us and eat it with us, not expecting us til midnight.

Early next morning Phouc-Tan left for work and Maggie showed us around Cambridge for the day. They are such gracious hosts. We picked up Jules (Maggie and Cindy's sister) here and went to Shannon's studio in London to give Cherie a day of pampering. We saw Rob and Amy where he read the comment I wrote for one of the Doxology pieces, writing as a woman on the "woman at the well", that will be in the book they sell at the exhibitions (does this make me an almost published writer?). It was fun getting into an "artist zone" so I could interact adequately with the piece.

In the middle of the night Jules, Abigail and I left to catch the early morning "chunnel" to France. This stage was about Jules and her getting us to Cindy and Elizabeth. She was hosting this part of the excursion. We thought we would arrive in Paris with a day to spare sipping coffee in a sidewalk cafe. That was not to be. They couldn't get to Paris. How about Bilbao, Spain? Uh, OK, so 24 hours of almost non-stop driving we arrive in Bilbao. So much for the leisurely sipping.

However, isn't Bilbao home of the Guggenheim. Yeah baby! Now we're talking. Say hello to Frank O Gehry's bizarre architectural wonder and Richard Serra's "Matter of time" and inhale a bit of "Art Informal". So Jules has been wanting to see a few Aztec old things. How about half a dozen galleries of Aztec wonders. Well, we did stay a bit long and had to rush to the Train station to get Cindy and Elizabeth. Kinda cool the idea of all of us simultaneously racing to a spot halfway from Paris to Santiago. They seemed to glide off the train. Our Pilgrims.

We had a short presentation for them. Ornately beaded shoes to replace their worn hiking shoes, Embroidered scarves as coverings and dangly bracelets. All from our journey to find them.

And Elizabeth, I think she got taller. She looked like a young woman that could do anything.

On the way home we heard stories, continued to sleep in the small car (now more crowded) and listened to loud music. At one point I noticed Cherie leaning dramatically from one side to the other down the road while I was driving. Thought there was a bizarre problem with tires or suspension. Looked in the rearview mirror to see all the inhabitants of the back seat lurching from side to side in harmony while they sang/yelled with the songs.

On the more gentle side, we stopped at Monet's Garden. Who wanted that you may ask. Would you believe it if I said Cindy? Yes, she has frequently talked to her mom about Monet and his garden. She was the only one in the garden dressed all in flowing black.

Another highlight was bumper cars. We arrived early in the town our Chunnel train was to depart from to find the remnants of a festival. The best bumper cars ever. No dodge-em cars like our more passive cultures have but full on passionate, violent bumper cars. We all bear injuries from the bumper cars and none of us regret it.

After the Chunnel we drove to Chichester where Elizabeth and Abigail got to see some of their best friends, Tilly and Poppy. Cindy and Jules took Cherie to their Father's cousin's house and we jumped on a train early the next morning, heading for home. The train left at 5:20 and arrived in Aberdeen at 3:30 the same afternoon where we jumped on the 5:00 ferry to arrive in Orkney at 11:00 and slept. Zzzzzzzz.

Comments

[becky]

Thanks so much for sharing this -- what a great journey and celebration and bonding time with fellow sisters. I hope that one day I can experience something like that, too.

[bea]

sounds so cool. it was great to have you guys pop in for a cuppa - i felt very honoured. i love the way you wrote this post - it started with a real sense of the exhaustion and then the momentum just got hold of you and there was an incredible energy right up until you got on the train and then your writing just took on a lovely peace and relaxation.

by the way - SO EXCITED ABOUT THE BOOK YOU GUYS ARE MAKING!!!

[bobbie]

oh, you are amazing, all of you! the nurture and vision you are raising your daughters with is so inspiring and wonderful.

allowing her this journey, this experience - she'll know she can do anything now - you have truly given her roots and wings.

thank you for your example and open-ness in this, i pray i can do the same for my daughter one day.