Going Grinch

Tick tock, tick tock. Time moves at a glacial speed when you're just days, if not hours away from being reunited with your loved one.

Jack's return has been delayed multiple times because the plane -- she's a broke. And the plane coming with the part to fix his plane -- she's a broke too.

Excellent system. Top notch sort of organization. Sad to say that when it comes to my own work I can relate entirely too well to such inefficiencies. Yet, I'm not schlepping the U.S. Army around, or the heart-strings of their families!

So for now, my loved one is stuck in Budapest. Confined to the hotel (because everyone is armed) people are starting to go batty. Someone was thoughtful enough to get a tour bus and take the soldiers out on a field-trip before someone lost their mind (not a good idea when armed). Jack didn't sound terribly excited so I mentioned that a friend did his mission for the Mormon church in Budapest and loved it. That's when he realized he was so out of sorts when he got there he thought it was Budapest, when it's really Bucharest! Silly silly Jack-Jack.

Even though I'm starting to feel out of sorts myself, I haven't lost touch of where I am... But it does feel like someone keeps promising me that Santa is coming tomorrow yet he never shows, he just keeps getting hung up there in the North Pole or some one else's chimney.

Considering how unfathomable it was that Jack might actually be coming home, I feel like the kid who always suspected there wasn't a Santa and is now finding evidence pointing to this sad reality.

Stupid reality. Stupid Santa.

Quinn is much more resilient and willing to bend her experience of said reality. She's adapting to seeing her grandparents as 2-dimensional beings over Skype, and seems willing to believe it's still them just a lot flatter.

While she mimics their sounds, they watch her snarf down multiple bowls of food, all the while slapping at me to bring her more more more.

Not sure I've ever mentioned it, but for months this girl has been eating the equivalent of a 150lb person ingesting: 6 bananas, 2 bowls of cereal, and 1 bowl of yogurt -- topped off with a sip of tea in one sitting! Who needs Santa when there's the Endless Belly of Quinn to be the 8th Wonder of the World?! Seriously.

With a new home to explore, she's having a blast with door-stops, a big tub, and even the poorly inflated inflatable pool (which I'm afraid has a lethal leak). Even though she had a few hard cries and has been a bit more clingy than usual, Quinn is adjusting to her new surroundings well. She's smiling at strangers and getting to know neighbors, it's really endearing.

I'll let you know if my Santa Soldier arrives, or if he is just a figment of my imagination after all.

Cheers to you and your Santa Somebody. And may you be worthy of receiving something much warmer than coal!

Impatiently,
J & Quiescent Quinn