Surprise!!

As you will have read from Brett’s post, we made it a very special Christmas by flying home to see both of our families. I was so thrilled that my parents and sister never suspected or found out that we were coming home because it was an absolute delight to see the surprise in their eyes – I think that after being away for over 5 months it was surreal for them to actually see us in person. After shedding a few tears of delight, a delicious cup of tea, an exchange of presents and general catching up, Brett and I made some rounds to see neighborhood friends. Around 3pm we sat down for a lunch of lobster (Brett and I had cheese tortellini instead), salad and bread with cheese. Afterwards, Brett and I played Scrabble, which is quickly becoming a favorite game of mine, with my mom and dad for a few rounds. During this time Brett made, and we all happily consumed, his wonderful berry cobbler. After a day of so much excitement we were all tired fairly early, and after Emily left to spent the night at her boyfriend’s house, and the Scrabble games had ended, it was time to retire for the night.

However, soon after settling in to make a post and get to bed I started to feel very sick. Now, 12 hours later, things really haven’t gotten any better. I was violently ill throughout the night and spent about half of it on the bathroom floor. Both Brett’s mom and brother are also sick, and so we must have shared a stomach bug that Brett’s immune system obviously fought off. The fact that I basically can’t stand up without being sick indicates to me that the possibility of feeling well enough to drive 1.5 hours to Brett’s house and then the airport, followed by time in the airport and two separate flights, isn’t really a possibility. Because of this, Brett’s mom is trying to find out if it’s possible to change our flights to tomorrow, assuming that what we all have is a 24-hour bug of some sort. We will wait to hear from her before deciding how to proceed with the day. For now Brett is back to sleep and I’m about to do the same. I’m just really thankful that I can be sick at home and not on the road or while sleeping in the car.

UPDATE: 10 out of 13 people who were at Brett’s house on Christmas Eve are now sick with a stomach virus. Ann was thankfully able to change our flights, without a fee, so that we arrive tomorrow evening instead. We plan to spend the rest of the day in bed, and I will be drinking as much ginger ale as I can keep down. Here’s hoping that a) I’m better by tomorrow, and b) Brett doesn’t catch the bug. Please keep your fingers crossed!

On a lighter note, I hope you all had a truly wonderful Christmas!

<3 J