soft landing from the Nest

Yesterday was a slow-paced recovery day from Burning Nest. Getting a good night’s sleep in a real bed felt phenomenal, and then I took it really lazily at home with Bill until I finally felt ready to leave the house at 3pm in search of fulfilling a very specific craving for noodles and peanut sauce. Fortunately Pho has that on the menu and we were just in time for the end of their lunch special, which included a glass of wine that I very much did not need. It honestly felt very relaxing to spend the day mostly sleepy and fuzzy from re-entry back to the real world. Fortunately there was also lots of messaging with my campmates and also the Church of Dave.

I was also craving a scone so we walked to Gail’s to pick up the one that I had reserved in advance, and then walked back with a stop at M&S on the way. Bill got ingredients for a steak dinner and I impulse-bought a few unnecessary things, and then we headed home where my laundry-sorting turned into a full-blown unpacking/repacking project. I knew that when I got back from Nest I’d immediately feel tempted to start the packing process for our return to SF, and that’s exactly what happened. During dinner I subjected my family to the complexities of my decision-making around which souvenir paper shopping bags, and how many, I can bring. Bill suggested 8 and as of now I’ve narrowed it down to about 20.

Today was only slightly more adventurous, leaving neighborhood limits to head to the boys’ school for some volunteering. It was the teacher appreciation party so a bunch of us collected snacks and treats and a few gifts to raffle off. I was heading up the road to the school just as Ben was scootering home, so we had a quick hello and then I continued onwards and met James in the big hall. He and I worked on the raffle table, making the offerings look nice and then arranging food. Then he went off to tennis club and shortly after the teachers began to arrive, as well as Texas Erin dropping off her famous cookie cake. We had a long happy hug and she’s very invested in hearing my Burning Nest stories when we head to brunch tomorrow with Gina.

The whole event at the school was really lovely, and definitely a bittersweet goodbye because there’s a good chance that I won’t be back there again before we leave. It was great to see so many staff members I’ve come to know, and to have a particularly nice conversation with one of Ben’s teachers who I’d never met in person til today. I really savored the feeling of comfort and familiarity of being there – I’ve done enough PTA things that it just feels natural and easy, and I feel a sense of belonging. I’m still amazed at how this school handles the comings and goings of so many families flung from all over the world and all of the big feelings they bring with them. They really do work so hard to give everyone a sense of community and build a global village.

James finished tennis club and came back to find me and we commuted home together on the bus, chatting as we went about fun things left to do in London. Meanwhile Ben had gotten a haircut and gone on a neighborhood run. When we got home I heated up some M&S Indian food for dinner and ate with the boys while Bill was on a zoom work call, and the evening ended with some low-key crafting projects and some leftover sweets that James and I stole from the teacher buffet (only after the event had ended!). Tonight I had more really fun texting with the Church of Dave and got added to their group text which is as hilarious as you’d expect. I also made plans to see Mama Lucie tomorrow which we’re both stupidly excited about.

I’m definitely feeling the shift into the Beginning of the End of our time here. I’m really resisting the urge to start packing things up, because we truly didn’t bring a lot of things and don’t have too many more to bring back. All of the packing can literally be done in a day so I’m trying to avoid ending up with a house that feels empty for weeks in advance, and just focus on the few items that we need to sell or donate. I was explaining to James on our bus ride that because I don’t have anything to do other than just enjoy, I need to give my brain some kind of project to work on or I start to feel anxious. So I’m just picking little projects like organizing photos and making some random cards.