The eagle has landed. Elvis is back in the building.We are back in Abu Dhabi.
We got back to Abu Dhabi last night: four people, eight suitcases, eight carryons, a duty-free bag o’booze, and assorted aches and pains from sleeping where god didn’t intend people to sleep: 37,000 feet above sea level.
Okay, it’s a lot of bags, but it’s nothing compared to the entrance we made last year, which I’m sure the luggage handlers are still talking about with horror. But yes, vows were made about packinglessnextyearforsure.
We spent today, the 29th, in a blur of jet-lagged exhaustion, exacerbated, in my case, by the fact that Caleb came into our bedroom about every thirty minutes, starting at 1:30 to loud-whisper MOMMY I DON’T WANT TO GET JET LAG. By 3:30, all vestiges of patience had worn off and I snapped: “you HAVE jet lag. THIS is jet lag and what do you want me to do about it?” Then, mommy remorse set in, I let him clamber into our bed and taught him how to count sheep in order to lull himself to sleep. Although in his case, he counted lego figures rather than livestock. I lay there and wondered at what age a person could responsibly give a child an Ambien. Or half an Ambien?
But of course, we don’t have any Ambien, so my musings were purely theoretical. When I told a friend today about my drug dilemma, he said “did you try Bambien? That’s Ambien for kids.”
Bambien. Josh, you’re fucking brilliant. Call Big Pharma in the morning and pitch that sucker.
We tottered through the day and took the boys to dinner at Olivella’s, the pizza place that opened near our apartment, which the boys claim is almost as good as what they have in New York. And walking home, through the damp soft air of an Abu Dhabi summer night, we saw a lopsided moon rising between the buildings.
Husband pointed to the moon. “That’s a gibbous moon,” he said to the boys. And then we laughed. A long time ago, on a New York evening, a similarly lopsided moon rose over a different set of buildings, on one of our first dates. “That’s a gibbous moon,” I said to him. Husband, being an English professor and general all-around smarty-pants, scoffed at the word “gibbous” having anything to do with moons. Reader, he didn’t believe me. But dear reader? Words are my thing – and love the word gibbous. When he realized that I was right, Husband says he had the first flash that maybe he’d met his match.
And match we did. Fourteen years ago, we got married. I don’t remember if it was a gibbous moon that night, but matching my words with his was one of the smartest choices I’ve ever made. Happy anniversary, Husband: our second year of Abu Dhabi life, our fifteenth year of marriage, yet another gibbous moon. It’s going to be a good year.
Photo Credit: DAVID NUNUK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
I follow you to learn words like gibbous, and basically I just use your for your brain.
Kind of like your husband does.
Seems like you’re ok with that.
LOVELY POST. I hope he sees it, what wonderful words to say to someone you’re celebrating an anniversary with.
Well, he had to see this post because…that’s what he got for his anniversary. Sigh. Jet-lag and general exhaustion made for skimpy gift giving! But hey, I give him the gift of myself, right? : )
And I see the gibbous moon here, also. Only 250,000 miles away from all of us. Happy Anniversary you two babies!
If our marriage can be have as strong as yours, Nancy, I’ll be really happy for us both. Thanks.
“an English professor and general all-around smarty-pants” <– Why we love reading your blog. Because you are "an English professor and general all-around smarty-pants" to whom "Words are my thing," and also because your smarts and love of words color your posts like this. Happy Anniversary!
well, it takes a smarty pants to recognize a smarty-pants, KSB. : )
I absolutely love the word on play! Yes, the play on words… and the beauty of recognizing the same moon, and the same word, and the blessings of children now present between the moon and the sidewalk and the buildings and the beautiful moist air.
Thank you for Seeing and writing so that I may also SEE.
Congratulations and yes, Mubarak on your anniversary, I look forward to reading your post in 14 years celebrating another moment in time.
Bahareh recently posted..Operation Smile: Perhaps more beautiful than Mona Lisa smile is Maria’s Smile
Thanks, B. The air in AD seems really like a live thing, sometimes, doesn’t it? It’s got actual heft and substance and *presence* – I know you understand that, right?
Yes, indeed…. it is all in the BEING PRESENT.
Bahareh recently posted..Operation Smile: Perhaps more beautiful than Mona Lisa smile is Maria’s Smile
We once took the kids to Spain and our 5 y.o. slept through the ENTIRE 24 hours of travel – including the cab trip to the airport from our house. That was awesome except for 24 hours later when we were finally, FINALLY at the twee Spanish farm house exhausted, and she stationed herself wide awake at the foot of my bed and stared at me. It was like a scene from “The Grudge.”
“If you’ve been awake 24 hours, why not just make it an even 36?” seemed to be her message. I still shudder at the memory.
Glad you are back safely and looking forward to reading more of your dispatches!
Nancy Davis Kho recently posted..Camp Standards
Congratulations on 14 years and 2 years (and not re-scarring aiport employees with your billion pound bags). And words…mmmmmmm.
Arnebya recently posted..Guest Posting at The Kir Corner
the accumulation of all these years makes me feel old, as does the number of bags in the airport, which is dangerously close to the size of the bags under my eyes.
I always notice gibbous moons. It’s the only thing I remember from Earth Science, apart from telling soil by the way the trees grow.
Lady Jennie recently posted..World Moms Blog: Vacationing With Kids
eh? what’s this you say about soil and trees? The only thing about trees that I (think I ) know is that moss grows on the north side…and I learned that from Nancy Drew!
Happy anniversary, Deb and Husband! Women with large vocabularies always get the most wonderful men, and don’t let society tell you any differently. I’m glad you made it across the ocean safely.
Erica M recently posted..yeah write #73 badges and optional prompts are ready: it’s family-free month, dammit