Christmas, Part Two

Delta never did answer their phones, so I religiously logged onto their website with my travel itinerary confirmation number in hand and discovered that I had been automatically rebooked on an afternoon flight on Tuesday, December 28 via Memphis and getting in after 11:00 p.m. into Philadelphia. Having a connection and arriving so late wasn't ideal, but it was doable, even with a 15-month-old, and I didn't think I had any other option. So after being able to relax much of Monday, I started packing after Oliver went to bed and made arrangements to take a cab to the airport the next day. At 11:10 p.m. we finally touched down in Philadelphia. Chris joined us two days later, as scheduled.

Whenever I go on vacation or visit people I haven't seen in awhile, I have grand plans of what I'm going to do with my time away. Despite having an extra two days to relax at home in St. Paul, I arrived with a bad cold and feeling completely wiped. Nights were late, whether due to picking up Chris late at the airport or celebrating New Year's Eve, mornings were early because of Oliver, and my time during the day was devoted to spending with family for the little time I was going to be in New Jersey. I couldn't catch up on sleep even if I tried. So some of best-intentioned plans, like taking advantage of free admission to the Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum using our Minnesota Children's Museum membership, were side-lined in favor of hanging out closer to home, taking walks in town and going to the local library (where Oliver was more interested in spinning the DVD carousel and ripping magazines off the shelves than he was in reading books).

Despite fighting exhaustion and not doing everything I wanted to do, I enjoyed what we were able to do, like spending a day at my new step sister's, where Oliver got to hang with his older cousins, visiting my grandmother, who marveled at anything Oliver did and hosting New Year's Eve dinner with my brother for a group of friends. Although our delayed arrival meant we missed seeing my uncle, we managed to make up time with everyone else and, most importantly, they all got to spend time with Oliver.

And despite the hours spent in an airplane, delayed bedtimes, missed naps, napping in different locations and whatever else we subjected Oliver to, he handled it all as well as you could ask of a 15-month-old. Letting him sleep became my top priority and I tried mitigating the stress with an uncharacteristically liberal use of a pacifier and lots of snacks. When well-fed and well-rested, Oliver adapted to our ever-changing schedule and new people.

We're back in Minnesota now, still unpacking and readjusting to our old schedules. I can hardly believe it's January and Christmas is really past. Eventually we'll get the tree down and Christmas decorations put away. Maybe I'll finally have a chance to take a breather and reflect on the memories of the whirlwind 2010 holiday season.