In Absentia

My humble apologies....I missed yesterday....in more ways than one.
I got up and the room spun and my stomach roiled.  I stayed in bed all day and by evening was fevered and miserable.  I got through the night and mostly rested today.  By evening I was feeling a little more human and joined everyone for dinner.

Both the little girls had a variation of the same earlier this week, but either they had much milder cases or I am an even greater wimp than I had heretofore thought.  Peter and Lia both had a day of it as well....but they didn't slow down.  Yes...I am a wimp.

Yesterday they all went to the zoo....it didn't rain....and the weather was not unpleasant.  They declared the Copenhagen Zoo to be one of the best ever.  Little Eliza absolutely loved it. In the early evening, they took advantage of the good weather and went to Tivoli.

Peter didn't quite fit in the airplane, but like any good dad, rode along as the guardian angel.

In the evening, Lia and Peter walked the whole half block to the Ny Teater, where they saw the Danish production of "Beauty and the Beast."  They got tickets months ago and have been so excited to see it in this beautiful old ornate theater.  Thomas Kofod played the beast and they said his voice was better than the soundtrack.  They were enchanted by the theater, the staging, the costuming, the acting and the singing, and the short walk.

SK did a wonderful job of entertaining Eliza and getting Rebekah to sleep (with some fussing...from her).

Today, Peter and Lia took Rebekah for a stroll down some of the sweet little streets here, and Eliza stayed home and napped...so did I.  They returned to the Christmas shop they found, and got a few more things.  They returned home in a deluge.  They walked in and said they had fallen in the lake.  I am not sure they would have been any wetter had they truly fallen in.  Thankfully, little Rebekah was dry and happy.  Now.....if they had only followed my advice and taken the Mary Poppins!  (I know it is bulky to carry around, but when the occasion arises, it is invaluable!)

Lia has been puttering around packing, and SK and Peter are in a jovial scrabble competition on their telephones.  Who would have ever thought?  Cell phones boggle the mind, but after you have had one for awhile, how do you ever do without it?  Lia and Peter walked all over the place here in Copenhagen with the use of their phones....always finding their way back home.  You can ask anything...
"Is there porter service available at the Copenhagen Airport for little families with too much to carry?" "When do swans turn white?"
"What is the weather in Copenhagen going to be today?"

Lia and I met a wonderful young woman at the center today so Lia could interview her for a possible article on YSAs in Denmark.  Lia visited the center twice and visited with people and watched and listened and enjoyed.  She settled on one young woman to interview and I think it went very well.  It might never see the light of day, and even if it does, it could be a year and a half away.....but it was such a treat to hear the interview and imagine what will come of it.

While we were there, Brother Andersen and his youngest daughter came in to see the center.  She recently came home from her mission to be with her older sister before she passed away.  They were going to the temple.  My heart aches for them.  My 30-year-old brother passed away after an accident over 31 years ago, and still leaves a gaping hole in my heart.

I"ll have to say goodbye- tomorrow to our little family here at home and then head over to the center to get lunch going for the group who attend the temple.  Maybe that is a good thing.  There is no room in the car for me when all of the luggage and the little family is loaded up.  When we picked them up, I took the train home and got fined $150.00 for being on the train at the wrong time!!!! (Since I am over 65, I get a significant discount on our bus/train passes, with the stipulation that we don't ride at certain times of the day.....and since we seldom take the train, I completely forgot.  I am sure I could contest it, but "stupidity" is not necessarily the best defense.)

I think being in the center working on a meal and then being with the YSAs will dull the pain of the empty apartment when they are gone.  Eliza's sweet little voice and Rebekah's coos have been lovely sounds.  Lia and Peter have been great fun and so excited about all there is to do and see here.

Once again, I am grateful that #1 we are able to have visitors, and #2 this was a holiday week in Copenhagen....no meals no shopping.  And except for tomorrow's activity, and Monday's FHE, there has been little going on.

Now it is time to get back to work.