The very day that school released for the extended three-week winter holiday, Madeline, Mom and Dad got on an airplane and made the long haul back to the United States. We left Sri Lanka around midnight on Friday and arrived in San Francisco, California on Saturday morning. That sounds like a really good itinerary… until one realizes that we actually spent two days getting there (two full nights of flying!) Maddie, ever the traveling champ, was very good on the airplane. In fact, once on the ground in San Francisco, she didn’t want to get off the plane!
Unfortunately, adjusting to a 13.5 hour time difference is about as bad as it gets, and each of us felt it for about a week. Madeline probably adjusted better than Mom or Dad, though the instant power naps during the days really did her in. Her little clock was exactly opposite for sleeping – and she was up around 04:00 each morning for a week, ready to rumble.
But what a pleasant and relaxing holiday it was. Not much happened and not much moving around – just the way a three-week stateside holiday should be. We spent much of our time in Green Valley with Mom’s family. Green Valley days were spent strolling, watching Christmas shows on TV, baking, swinging/sliding, tormenting Bogey and Cammie, and hanging out with the family. We golfed, played tennis, worked out at the club, and even took part in a mini-slog. What a life!
Uncle Drew spent two days getting to California after being snowed under in Portland, but made it in time for Christmas. We spent time in Burlingame with Todd, Karen, Henry, and Scarlett at their beautiful new house. It’s such a pleasure to have all of the kids together in one place. In the great pecking order of youth, Henry pushes Maddie around, Maddie pushes Scarlett around, and Scarlett pushes…. well, she is waiting for Paco to arrive so she can push him around! What goes around comes around. We also attended a legendary Purvis Christmas Eve dinner in Napa which, as always, was a great chance to reconnect with so many good people and watch the kids go bonkers.
The day after Christmas we packed up the car and headed to Tahoe for a few days. It has been a fairly dry winter in the Sierras but we were lucky that just before we arrived, a huge winter storm had dumped lots of snow. So it was a winter wonderland! Lots of fresh powder for Maddie to play in. She had seen snow before (first in Morocco and then Colorado) but at this age she could really get crazy in it for the first time. When the weather cleared we made a great sled run and had lots of fun flying down it. Mom, Maddie and Nonnie went on the aerial tram and Dad and Uncle Drew went downhill skiing at Northstar on Drew’s birthday. Mom and Papa G went cross-country skiing, too. Finally, Dad went to Colorado for four days where he reconnected with his family (sadly, without Mom and Maddie – too much traveling for a 2 year-old and a pregnant woman!) Everyone was well there but missed Mom and Maddie very much.
Wait, did I say that not much happened over the holidays? Maybe we were busier than I thought!
The weather was COLD everywhere. I know that we have been ‘ruined’ by so many years living in the tropics, but this time conditions seemed extreme. In fact, thinking back on this holiday for some time to come, the thing that will first come to mind is the cold. No matter how many layers we had on, it seemed like we were constantly chilled. It was bad enough in San Francisco where it is always humid and chilly in the winter, but Colorado’s near zero temperatures and wind were almost more than Dad could handle!
