Touch Down!

We touched down in Edinburgh at about 7:30 in the morning on Monday, August 15th (not a smooth landing, but we were all alive....what more could I ask for?).  We were home.  We got off the plane, Mommy a bit bleary-eyed and only slightly worse for the wear, and headed into immigration.  David and I crossed our fingers that my visa and the girl's passports would check out fine.  After a few minutes of questioning, we were wished good luck by the immigration officer, and were on our way.

We picked up our luggage and headed out.  In the Edinburgh aiport, there is a long, winding walkway that leads you to a large automatic sliding door, which is where you exit.  Since it took us a bit longer to get our bags, take the girls to the bathroom, fuss around, etc., we were one of the last from our plane to walk out.  Some people several hundred feet in front of us walked through the doors, and we got a peek at the people waiting outside.  What we saw was so wonderful.

We emerged through the doors to our waiting family, who were holding a sign that said "Welcome, American Lawries".  David's parents, his sister Pauline and her partner Scott, and our niece Larissa were waving Scottish flags and yelling lots of "hooray"s.  Amid goody bags for the girls, lots of hugs, and a few tears from me, we slowly moved toward the doors and out into the beautiful Scottish weather ("beautiful" and "Scottish weather" are normally two words that don't go together, but the day we arrived was gorgeous).  

It took a while, but we all managed to get our luggage and ourselves into two cars, and we were off.  We headed to my in-law's for some breakfast and possibly a rest.  I felt a strange mix of adrenaline and utter exhaustion that's difficult to explain.  Luckily the girls were doing fine in the back, and even managed to point out a few castles along the way (exciting to them only because they think Cinderella might live in one).

After some food and chat, I was ready to go and check out what would be our home for the next few months.  A quaint town with a beautiful main street, Bridge of Allan is a small neighborhood in the larger city of Stirling.  Our apartment is fully furnished, and although a bit cramped with only two bedrooms and not much space, we would make do.

We arrived and unpacked but decided not to sleep.  We would stay up and attempt to get the girls to bed at their normal time, if possible.  Our little troopers slept hard that first night, and neither woke up until about 10 am.  Unfortunately, David had to work the next day, so his Dad came by to take me to the grocery store and keep us company.

When everything is new....every street, every sign, each person....the world changes.  That's how it was for me those first few days.  It was like being reborn.  I was able to see the world with a child's eyes again, and I'm grateful that I was aware of such an awesome personal transformation.