If there's one thing you learn from such a visit, it is of course the old adage that you don't know just how much you miss something until it is gone. Having Mum and Dad here in our home for a week was too short, but additionally wonderful. It was great for the kids to have the chance to spend some time with Nanny and Poppa.
It all fitted in very well and it was incredibly nice to have some help with some of those little jobs that I haven't seemed to find the time to get to, not to mention the fact that they were here every night when I got home from work.
Of course it was always going to be a short term thing and the Sunday upon which they left came around way too quickly. There were a couple of stand out moments on that final day for me that cause a welling of tears, threatening the barriers that held them back.
We went to church in the morning and as always, seating is something of an issue. We don't exactly get there early enough to have a pick of seats and with 6 of us we often struggle to all sit together so with 8 there was no hope. We found 5 seats with 4 in front and so Caroline and I sat down and were promptly joined by all of the kids. Thomas was sitting next to me but of course Emily was most indignant that she wasn't next to Daddy.
I suggested to Thomas that he might like to move but he wasn't going to until I pointed out that it would be his last chance to sit with Nanny and Poppa at church. he was off like a shot and i don't think i'll ever forget the look on his face as he stood quietly by his Poppa's side, gazing up and waiting for Poppa to notice that he was there. The exchanged look when Dad did notice won't be leaving my memoray any time soon either.
Later in the day we were back at home and Sam had taken out his home made kite to see if he could fly it. I, being the doubter than I am, didn't think that it would ever fly and was inside busy loading photos onto a digital photo frame for Caroline's Mum and Dad. Well the kite must have flown a bit because later on Dad came in asking if I had a ladder other than that which was my grandfather's. The kite was stuck up a tree, beyond reach and unlikely to come down any time soon with it's tail wrapped around several branches.
We investigated various ways of reaching it, but it looked like a lost cause to me. I had written the kite off. But Dad had managed to understand Sam much better than I had and had picked up on the fact that the kite was one that Sam had made at school in Australia (where as I thought he'd made it locally). Dad persevered and the kite was salvaged, with Sam showing due pleasure. It was a lovely moment to have had Poppa do that for him.
The final moment that sticks with me was at the airport where we finally had to say goodbye. Thomas came up to me and said with glistening eyes, "I'm going to miss Nanny and Poppa." As I relayed this to Mum, we both fought back tears.
The drive home was hard, something to do with unseasonal levels of moisture under the eyelids and that night was strangely quiet.
Now we're left counting the days until our next visitors get here (105 as of this moment)
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