Prof got a phone call on August 30th, notifying us that our luggage would arrive at the flat the next day or so.  It was a huge relief, and one I could tell that relived some of the stress and burden Prof had been carrying on his shoulders. For my more laid back Californian hubby, it was tough to watch him stress and worry about the family.  All I could do was be the calm and easy going one. Who knew, right? But to his ying, I was his yang, and vice versa, especially when I was a hot mess before the trip. (Sorry – JEK – Hope you ladies can forgive my craziness before your move and ours.)

So after the kids went to bed, we waited up for the luggage to arrive. The six major pieces of luggage we checked in arrived.

All of the pieces were in its almost rightful place. After all, TSA did have to do a check or two of its contents.

Oh, if you could only see the faces of the kids when they woke on Saturday morning. It was almost like Christmas! They got to see familiar toys from back home – Piano Man’s favorite Ninjago (thanks, Uncle JB), coloring books, etc.

Now we were just waiting for the final piece of carry-on luggage that we were forced to check in at Newark. It arrived that Saturday night.  I immediately opened the main compartment hoping to look for the one item that was probably the most expensive of all.  I checked a second time, and mentally confirmed that the DSLR camera was gone.

But considering that the camera was the only thing that didn’t make it with us to Cyprus, it’s been a blessing to have our family all safe, together, and in one piece. We can always get another camera. We can’t always get back the things that harm us (e.g., sense of safety and security after a mugging or robbery.) And thankfully, no one in our family has been through that.