Normal.

My parents and I picked the kids up from school early on Tuesday so we could head to the airport.  The school had already announced they were going to close at 1:00 due to the snow storm that was on it's way.

When we arrived at the airport in Greensboro, I was shocked to learn that our flight to Charlotte was cancelled.  I guess the snow hit Charlotte first and was moving north towards us but in my packing frenzy I wasn't paying attention to the fact that snow would mean airport delays.

Luckily, we were quickly rebooked through Philadelphia and from there we went to Boston. We got to the gate and realized that the flight to Philadelphia that was supposed to take off an hour before our flight was still sitting at the gate.  They rebooked us onto that flight and we luckily made it out without any furture delays.  All in all we ended up in Boston only two hours later than we should have.

It was all fairly smooth sailing considering all the potential problems and as we were taking off from Greensboro, the kids were excited to see all the tiny powdery snowflakes swirling to the ground.

The kids have only flown once before so they were thrilled to be flying again. Sarah was a little nervous during the takeoffs but other than that, it was pure excitement for them. And they were champs trudging through the Philadelphia airport trying to find our gate which got switched between the time we got off the plane and read the departures board and got something to eat and double checked the departures board again.

The excitement for me came when I got to see Dan.  Boy, did I miss him.  I'm used to him travelling for work and being gone for a week at a time but this time felt different.  I guess just the uncertainty of the trip and how long he was going to be gone and knowing that ultimately it was all going to end in a funeral left me a little more unnerved than I normally would be.

The wake, funeral, and burial were all lovely.  I think Dan's mom would have been pleased by everyone that was able to attend and how nice each service was.

One of her brothers is a priest and his homily was beautiful.  In fact, all of his homilies are so well thought out and well delivered that I wish I could hear him every week.  There were 6 priests (one of them a Bishop) in attendance and I think that would have made her very happy.  Although, knowing her, she would have wondered what all the fuss was about!

I'm glad Dan was able to spend the week before her death with her and I'm glad the kids and I were able to make it up there as well.  (I was a little nervous that the doctor wasn't going to let me fly, but apparently that's a little myth that has been perpetuated through television sitcoms.  At least that's where I've always seen pregnant women not being allowed to fly!) 

And now we are back home.  The normal schedule for the week is underway and music lessons, basketball practices, make-up tests and homework, regular tests and homework, laundry, grocery shopping, and more laundry all await.

But, I don't mind at all.  Because that sounds like a normal week.

And normal is pretty good.