Oh yeah. Mother's Day. I almost forgot.

Mother's Day was kinda dwarfed by our trip. That was not the plan. We carefully scheduled our flight to arrive home at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. We would get a good night's sleep (assuming jet lag wasn't too bad), and wake up Sunday morning refreshed. We could attend church with our families, followed by a relaxing afternoon and dinner. Eli and Amanda volunteered to get all the food together and bring it to my house. It was a great plan.

But then, as noted in the previous post, our flight was 2.5 hours delayed out of Rome, causing us to miss both our subsequent connections in Toronto and Chicago. Ugh!! We were told that the earliest we could make it to SLC would be 3:30 p.m. Sunday, and probably not even then because that flight included a 40-minute layover at Dallas/Ft. Worth, which is not nearly long enough even if the flight were on time, and none of our flights had been on time thus far, so...... 

We were so discouraged. Shulamith's kids were literally counting the "sleeps" until her return. My kids maybe weren't counting sleeps (Amanda, were you counting sleeps?), but they definitely wanted me home for Mother's Day. But God is a God of miracles, big and small. And late Saturday night, as we approached the American Airlines customer service kiosk and met two angels in the form of ticket agents, well that was a tiny miracle. Tiny, but meaningful. They handed us boarding passes for an early flight the following morning that would land us in SLC at 11:00 a.m.

We would miss church, but we would be home for the rest of Mother's Day, and indeed we were! There were a couple other fun glitches, including lost luggage that contained my van key zipped inside, leaving us no way to get home from the airport. Eli graciously came and picked us up. 

We were home! After an amazing trip that we will never forget, we were home. Shulamith told her kids she was going to hold them all day, and I think she did!

After we dropped her at her house and drove around the corner to mine, I told Eli I was scared to go inside. I'd been gone 10 days, and I typically do at least 10 hours of home maintenance/cleaning in 10 days, so I expected a disaster. I asked Eli how bad it was, knowing he and Amanda had come over the day before to drop off the food. He was cool as ice: "Uh, I don't know, Mom. Not great?"

I braved up and walked inside. I immediately smelled the lovely scent of clean, you know, that amazing smell of freshly wiped counters, mopped floors, shiny appliances, dust-free furniture, sparkling bathrooms! I was shocked. A lovely rose in a vase sat on the counter with a note from Eli and Amanda explaining that they did some cleaning, so I could return to a happy home. They know me well. It was truly the best Mother's Day surprise. Thank you, Eli and Amanda!

The afternoon was relaxing. I unpacked, showered, and read a book. Once everyone arrived, we ate dinner and just chilled. It was good. I had three of my five kids with me physically, but Seth texted a sweet message from Japan, and Luke texted from Maryland. I know it sometimes sounds cheesy and melodramatic when moms talk about their kids, but that's because language is limited. Motherhood is divine, and it's hard to capture its fullness in words alone. 

So I'll be just as cheesy as the rest of them and tell you that these five people are my whole world. They are my heart. They are the reason I breathe. 

In case you don't know all of them...

This is Dr. Luke Erichsen. He is a psychologist for the Maryland Public School District and a dad to one daughter. He is also the one who made me a mommy!

 

This is Shulamith Webster. She is my only daughter and my BFF in the whole world. She is a full-time mom to three and starting in August, a half-day kindergarten teacher!

This is Isaiah Erichsen. He is world traveler, avid Utah Jazz fan, and political activist. He works as a software engineer and IT specialist for Cvent. He is also the smartest person I know.

This is Eli Webster. He is a 4th grade teacher, horror movie lover, and dada to one little girl (who is basically his twin). His kindness knows no bounds.

This is Seth Erichsen. He will be a senior at UVU this fall, majoring in sociology and criminal justice. He loves music and movies and Japan (where he is right now on a month-long study abroad). He is funny and smart and cares about everyone.

When in Rome....(and Barcelona, Cannes, Florence, Lucca, and Pisa)

If you decide to take a Mediterranean cruise to six European cities, there are some absolute do's and don'ts. You're welcome.

Do:

Take pictures of yourselves trying to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

• Watch other people try to do the same thing.
• Laugh a lot

Don't: 

Expect edible food on the cruise ship. 

• "Cooking for 4,000 people isn't easy, but even I could make some Kraft Mac & Cheese for everyone."  -Shulamith, in response to the gross food on the ship. 
• Here is an example. This is supposed to be potato soup.

• Enough said.

Do:

Plan to eat almost all your food in the local restaurants, NOT on the ship.

• In particular, don't miss the French pastry in Cannes.

• Or the legit pasta in all the Italian cities.

• Google how to get shrimp out of the shell.
• Try to do it.
• Laugh a lot.

• Try the Italian Gelato. 

• Mixed reviews on this one.
• Shulamith loves it.
• I think it's meh (Give me some Handel's or Cold Stone).
• Try it and judge for yourself.

Do:

Enjoy leisurely dining.

• Dining in Europe is a process. An event. No one rushes. This is partly because servers aren't desperate to turn tables as fast as possible to earn more tips (see next "Don't" below), but also just the culture. We spent around two hours each time we ate at a sit-down restaurant.

Don't:

Tip or Trip

• Okay, this was mind-blowingly awesome! In Europe, they have this crazy amazing system where restaurant owners actually pay their employees, rather than forcing the customers to do it. For real. Tipping isn't even a thing. It's neither required nor expected. What a concept! 

• In all the cities we visited, narrow, cobblestone streets (barely wide enough for their tiny smart cars) separate the tall buildings on each side. In most places, there are no sidewalks or any type of provisions for pedestrians and no defined lanes of traffic or lights. We were sure we were gonna trip on one of the uneven, jagged cobblestones and fall, then get run over by one of the speeding cars weaving in, out, and around us. They may take their time dining, but they seem in an awful hurry when driving. We escaped unscathed, but barely.

Don't:

Expect to find Diet Coke anywhere (except on the ship).

• Europe (just like South America) has gross Coke Light and even grosser Coke Zero but no Diet Coke! Ugh. We're convinced they've never tasted it, or they would surely love it and offer it everywhere. 
• We had caffeine withdrawal headaches by the second day. 

Do:

Exercise coping skills. Think flexibility. Breathe.

• Drink as much Diet Coke as possible while on the ship (early mornings and late evenings). 
• Make friends with the bartenders, who will recognize you as the only two adults on the entire cruise ship who don't drink alcohol; they will begin filling four glasses (two each!) of Diet Coke the second they see you approach.
• Pack ibuprofen. 
• Head straight for the nearest McDonald's the second you walk off the plane in the United States.

Do: 

Visit the gym on the ship after sitting on airplanes for 12 hours in order to get those important steps.

Do:

Expect bipolar weather.

• After four days of relentless, blinding sunshine, if finally rained! Pretty much all day when we were in Lucca and Pisa. 
• This is partly why that day was my favorite.
• But also, the Leaning Tower is just way cool. 
• Pack an umbrella and enjoy, because the next day it will likely be all sunny again. 

Do: 

Breathe in every last ounce of the beauty of the many languages, the culture, artwork, religion, history, and Greek mythology. Ahhh!

• Everything is so old and so big. I felt small in comparison.
• La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona was our introduction to the primary religion of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church. 
• This is a picture of part of one of the giant doors. They are made of stone carved into names of Biblical characters, including "Jesus" multiple times, and each time, "Jesus" stands out physically from all the other names. How much do you love that symbolism?

• I don't know tons about this religion, but after seeing the devotion that shines through their churches, their artwork, and (most importantly) the sweet sister nuns, whom we saw praying so faithfully and earnestly, I know one thing for sure:
• They love Jesus very much.
• Just like I do.
• And that fact unifies us with them, and with the entire Christian community. 
• They might have the theology all wrong, as might we!
• Because who really knows how much we're getting right and how much we aren't.
• But the God we worship is bigger than theology. So much bigger.
• My time in Europe, especially at the Vatican, which was our final experience with the Catholic Church, did much to strengthen my testimony of the savior, Jesus Christ.

Don't:

Ride buses in Rome. Just don't. 

• Very mean police guys will target you as unsuspecting American tourists and extort money from you.
• It's awful. 

Don't:

Schedule your flight home the day before Mother's Day if you want to be home for Mother's Day.

• Our flight out of Rome was delayed 2.5 hours, making us miss our next two connections out of Toronto and Chicago, respectively. 
• After we stood in a very long line for a very long time at O'Hare, United switched us to American Airlines, with a flight the next day (Mother's Day) that went through Dallas and wouldn't land in SLC until late that afternoon. We would miss most of Mother's Day.
• We hadn't seen our families for over a week, and yes, we wanted to be with them on Mother's Day.
• Sad, tired, and extremely hungry, we made our way to the American Airlines customer service desk to pick up our boarding passes, when we discovered two agents who had already signed out (it was after 10 p.m.) and were about to leave.
• Their kindness and help provided the final miracle of our trip.
• They found us a direct flight from Chicago to SLC leaving first thing Sunday morning. 
• We would be home at 11:00 a.m. So, so grateful!
• We both shouted and jumped for joy, literally, right there in the airport. 

Do:

Stand out on deck in the rain and wind, and let all your senses be awakened. 

• We were literally all alone on the deck because everyone else took cover from the wind and rain.
• Why would they do that? 
• It was beautiful.

Do:

Travel with your best friend, who cheerfully agrees to handle all the logistics, all the things you don't like to fuss with.

• Shulamith booked all our flights, arranged our off-ship accommodations, shuttle services, and a bunch of other stuff I can't even remember.

Do: 

Post a blog about the trip, and include random photos at the bottom.