Landing in the airport filled my stomach with massive butterflies as I was eager to see everyone and excited to see our big guy, Diego. I never thought in a million years that I could miss a dog so much but now that I have, it makes sense. Every morning, every afternoon, and every evening of my life includes taking care of Diego and suddenly when that responsibility was gone it truly felt like a void. So imagine my surprise coming down the escalator and I hear my Diego bear "ahoo ahoo" and see him all fluffy white (a recent trip to the country-club groomers) with a sign around his neck saying, "McKenzie." Sharilyn and Alan in their thoughtfulness knew that we would be dying to see him and brought him as part of the welcome committee. My biggest fear was that he would not recognize us but I did think that was unlikely (if you have seen Christian the Lion on YouTube you know what I mean) and we had a spectacular reunion worthy of the first scene of Love Actually!
We arrived home to the surprise of a delicious home cooked meal which was an obvious treat and to the added company of Jon and Maryam who were able to come for Christmas. It had been several years since the last Albuquerque Christmas (preceding me) and Sharilyn and Alan did not disappoint with not one but two Christmas trees and a stocking for everyone, including Diego! Besides Kuala Lumpur we hadn't really had a lot of Christmas cheer and it was so comforting to settle in for the night with family, good food, and an eggnog in hand. Although we hadn't slept for over a day, we were suddenly wide awake regaling stories of our travels to our generous listeners and I don't think we made it to bed before 2 am!
Waking up the next day proved difficult (okay, to be fair it is always difficult for me to wake up...) since the jet lag broke through the exhaustion and gave me a fitful sleep. However once awake and with coffee in hand we enjoyed a lovely and lazy Christmas Eve catching up with the family, getting to know Maryam, sorting through and wrapping Christmas presents, and of course watching our favorite Christmas movie, Love Actually. It felt so comforting to be with family for the holidays and although it is easy to miss the spontaneity of traveling, it felt refreshing to have some home comforts.
Christmas turned into a exuberant event the next morning as stockings were ripped into and presents were handed out. I think everyone felt a little spoiled by how many presents there were and I extra appreciated my newly acquired slippers and my assortment of scarves to keep my not climatized body warm! The day was relaxing and the evening wonderful with a large Christmas dinner and the company of Clara and Charlie next door. I have never had a New Mexican Christmas but I think the tradition of having green chilies and tamales with dinner should be incorporated everywhere; absolutely delicious.
The days passed as we finally felt somewhat normal having adjusted to the time and the altitude. Both Josh and I and Jon and Maryam had fun preparing meals for our working parents in the evenings and just spending time hanging out. Jon, Maryam, and Sharilyn were swept away by the Game of Thrones series and I got to feel like the local expert (not a daily occurrence mind you...) since I had read the books as we traveled. We also languished attention on Diego taking him to the dog park and playing with him in the backyard. We were quickly assured that our goofy, stubborn dog was still the same ol' stinker he ever was and we had a lot of fun with him.
After Jon and Maryam had left, we finalized our plan to go to Mexico instead of spending our time solely in California and we became busy planning that and researching how to take Diego down with us. However we did plan to drive up the coast to Los Angeles to visit Jon and Maryam on our way back to Victoria and I am really excited because I have never been to L.A before let alone California!
Since we left Victoria on August 19th, 2012, this was the most time we had spent in one place and it felt luxurious not to be moving around all the time and to have more than three choices of outfits. There were such small things we suddenly appreciated like being able to get up, linger in our pajamas, and make our own breakfast or even just turning on the news. On the same token though, it felt strange to have the travel come to a sudden halt and it was a slight adjustment to not having our adrenaline race due to some new experience every day or to not have new surroundings to master every few days or so. Traveling can really keep you on your toes! If anything I think traveling has taught me that both extremes can be exhausting for different reasons whether it's the stifling day to day routine or the weariness of constantly moving around and that a balance needs to be achieved to have sustainable happiness.
That being said, our trip is not over yet as we head to Playa del Carmen, Mexico for five weeks and then drive up the coast of California! With our Albuquerque cure of travel weariness we set off to sun, sand, and Starbucks with a fluffy white guy in tow! :)
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