Wroxton

Leaving Gary, even though it is only for ten days, was the hardest thing I ever did. Yesterday, when Cyndy came to pick me up to drive me to the airport, Gary clung to my neck and would not let go. 'Take me with you!' he begged. 'Don't leave without me,' he pleaded. I fought to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill out of my eyes. I didn't want to tear myself away. I didn't want him to think I was being mean or cruel. A part of me just wanted to stay home but I knew that would not really be good for either of us. 'I'm going to miss you,' I told him. 'I'm going to think of you all day every day,' I promised.  And when he still wouldn't let go, 'It is only for ten days.' But ten days at that moment felt like an eternity to me, how could it possibly seem better to him. I resorted to bribery. 'If you let me go, Mommy will let you watch a movie,' I offered. 'No, I want you to stay with me,' he insisted, squeezing me tighter. 'If you let me go, Mommy will let you have a big piece of birthday cake, right now before dinner.'  My son loves me, but he loves treats more. He released his choke hold, smiled broadly and said 'Yum.' In that moment, I slipped out the door, pulled it behind me and the damn broke as tears poured out of my eyes.

My flight was delayed three hours which gave me way too much time to sit - and you all know how much I enjoy being sedentary to begin with. Despite being sick and very tired, I could not fall asleep. Usually, I do not sleep well on planes, but I can generally catch a short nap - at least an hour or two. Last night, sleep failed me. I turned to Steinbeck for comfort and read until my eyes became to heavy and refused to stay open. Closing the book I could feel myself falling into oblivion, but just as I reached the edge I sprung back wide awake. Opening East of Eden, I began the cycle again, all night for nearly six hours.

Alas, when I arrived I was exhausted. However, I grabbed my bag, sprinted through the airport, raced through security, exchanged some money and located the FDU meeting point.  There already were some friends I had made over the summer, so with speech slurred by sleeplessness and eyes barely hanging open we caught up with each other while waiting for the bus that would carry us to the college.

The bus ride was just under two hours and the Abbey is beautiful.  My room is bigger than my condo and it has a beautiful view.  Sadly, between eating, socializing and getting acquainted with the rules of the residency, I have not yet had time to explore the grounds. Weather permitting, that is on my agenda for tomorrow.

As for now, I must be getting to bed.  I have been up for over 30 hours and I just can't keep my eyes open any longer. I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors but in all honesty I'm too tired to even proof read. Hopefully tomorrow, after some sleep, I will be slightly more coherent.

Fun facts for Gary:

1- There is a knight's armor here at the college that dates back to the 1400s.
2- Even though Beowulf was a viking and his story took place in Scandinavia, the story was written here in England.