Good Life [OneRepublic]

My Great Aunt Ruth is doing better!

I can't believe how great it feels to be saying that! I mean, she's still in the hospital, and still has a long way to go, but she's doing better! On Saturday they had taken the ventilator out early that morning and when we got to see her she was no longer sedated. In the morning she was still pretty out of it and groggy, but it was so nice to see her without a tube down her throat and cords coming every which way from her.

And then that afternoon, when we came to visit again before heading home - she was awake and alert! When I went in my mom was already there (only two people allowed at a time in the ICU) she looked from my mom right at me! And when mom let go of her hand, she reached for mine! Mom and I stood there, holding her hand, just so overjoyed to be looking into her eyes and not at machines! We told her she looked a lot better, to which she mouthed 'thank you' (or, at least that's what it looked like), and she kept holding and rubbing my hand. And then when I told her I had to leave, to go back to Budapest, I told her I loved her and that I would see her again at Christmas, and she squeezed my hand so tight!

I am so glad I decided to take the week to go home an be with my family. Our family is small, and every person therefore is loved and valued so much. Not that they wouldn't be if we had a huge family, but you know what I mean? Right? [I didn't just stick my foot in my mouth or something, did I?]

Thank you again for your continued thoughts/prayers/whatevers! You have no idea how much I appreciate every single one of them!

The trip back to Budapest was kindof a pain. Got on the big metallic bird in Boston only to find out we'd be sitting there for an hour while a tire was changed. An extra hour in a middle seat (these things happen when you book a trip the day before you leave...) on top of a 6.5 hour flight is not fun, let me tell you. And I was grumpy about having to leave home (autumn in New England is AMAZING this year - but I will save that for another post, once I get my pictures uploaded and edited), already overtired, and crammed into a tiny seat with no personal tv console! Good thing I was planning on sleeping that 6.5 hours!

But then, an hour late taking off meant that I would miss my connecting in Frankfurt. Which also meant that I would miss my class (I should have known - I selected those flights with the precise purpose of being back for my Latin class after missing it for a week!), and would be even more grumpy and overtired. C'est la vie, non? I've prided myself on being a really good, roll-with-the-punches sort of traveller, but with the sleep-deprived state I was in, plus the overcharged emotions of the week, this was just a mess for me.

And to top it all off, I had my idiot moment of the day. I had put both my carry-ons in the overhead (since I was in the middle seat in the middle of the plane I had no foot room. Right where my feet should go was the stump for the seat in front of me. The lack of personal TV console I could get over, but don't people think about who has to ride for 6+ hours on these things when they design them?), and when I got off I didn't think to check nothing had fallen out of my backpack.

See, I keep my sunglasses (my super-duper-on-sale Juicy Couture sunglasses in an obnoxiously large pink case) in the side pocket of my backpack. So, when I finally got through security in Germany (yes, they make you go through security again!) I realized there was nothing in my side pocket! I nearly started crying. I went to the Lhufthansa service center, they gave me an address to email, I emailed them (begging for them to find my sunglasses), called my mom pretty upset about both the delay and my stupidity for not checking before I got off the plane, and then promptly took a 2+ hour nap stretched out on a bench of seats in the airport (this is why I always, always travel with my [full size] pillow and a blanket - I also had my arm tucked through a strap on both carry-ons).

When I woke up, I went to look for my book to read - and there were my sunglasses! Apparently when I had the guy sitting next to me put my backpack up in the overhead I though that they might fall out - so I moved them. And forgot I moved them. And freaked out about thinking I lost them. And there they were, mocking my stupidity from the entrails of my backpack. So happy that I didn't lose them!

So, I finally got home, missed my class, and promptly went to sleep.

For a good 12 hours.

And I'm still jet-lagged.

all images via we[heart]it