We stand in the airport train going from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5 to make the connection between Chicago and Stockholm. Chris is loaded down with a carry-on suit case and two shoulder bags that weigh roughly 30 pounds each. Amelia is strapped into the Ergo on my front. I additionally hold a shoulder bag, a bundle of coats, and pull a purple shiny ribbon. The ribbon was attached to help us identify our luggage but is now an ersatz handle since the carry-on’s handle refuses to extend. We are tired from the lack of sleep and the weight of our carry-ons.
As we approach Terminal 3, Amelia vomits and covers herself, the Ergo and me. Other people look at us in pity. I harp on Chris to get out the zip lock baggie of baby wipes. We use them all to mop up the puke on us. The train door opens to Terminal 5. We hurry off and find an abandoned ‘Smart Cart’. An angel is attempting to help us however possible at this desperate moment. We pile all the bags onto the ‘Smart Cart’ and take an elevator ride up to the check in for international departures. Once upstairs, Amelia starts another round of vomiting out her mouth and nose. We are once again covered.
One benefit to having an eight hour lay-over in Chicago is that we had time to mop up our mess, change our clothes and wash up in the sink. We camped out near a trash can and Amelia got the hang of pointing to the trash can so we could emergency helicopter her over and hover above in time for her to deposit her stomach contents into the trash bag. After a while Amelia’s spirits rose and her color came back. She says, ‘My fairy godmother’s magic dust ran out!’ Poor girl but she still has her amazing imagination.
Upon checking in for our international portion of the flight, we mentioned that Amelia had just gotten sick on the floor and although we cleaned it up they might want to call a janitor to properly clean the area. A blessing and a curse. They pitied us and checked one of our carry-on bags for free to our final destination so that we had one less thing to deal with. However, they were uncertain if we should board the plane with a sick child. What! An even longer layover in Chicago and how would we contact Mona in Sweden, our ride to our new home. Amelia did have a couple more little vomits but I don’t think the airline ladies saw her and we did manage to get on the flight. We had four seats in the middle of the large plane, two for Amelia to stretch out in and sleep. Her fairy godmother visited and sprinkled magic fairy dust and healed her. She was able to keep down all the little sips of water and bites of crackers we rationed her. She was bursting with energy during our three hour lay-over in Stockholm while Chris and I took turns taking naps on a little airport chair. We arrived in Umeå as planned and were greeted by Mona holding a little sign welcoming us. Thankfully she has a van and all of our stuff fit into it so that we just needed to take one trip to our new house. I supposed I should say all our stuff except one box of books that didn’t make its appearance on the baggage claim conveyor belt. Tomorrow, we need to walk to Chris’s office on campus to make a call and see if it has turned up.
The other seven suitcases, three personal item carry-ons, car seat, and stroller have been unpacked. Our stuff is somewhat organized in our very nice and modern yet tiny apartment. We’ve been to two grocery stores so that we have enough food in the fridge and cabinets for the next several days. We even sparked a friendship with our neighbors. At least I did with the mom who is an earthy knitter and was a Waldorf teacher before having Olin. Olin is just a year and a half and Amelia plays better with older children so I don’t know how much she wants to be friends with him, there were several rough moments between them. We’ll branch out in search of friends for Amelia. Maybe I should ask her fairy god mother to bring some *nice* and *happy to share* magic dust.
Chris starts work on Monday. According to him, he has years of work to do in a year and a half. (Despite the 4:30 end time for work throughout Sweden, he’ll be working some evenings and weekend.) He sits next to me now on the couch busy with some other work that followed him here.
Amelia and I will set out in all directions to explore our new home by foot, bike, ski, bus, and boat...not sure about getting a car yet. In the summer, the boat will take us to the offshore island Holmon, known as the sunniest place in Sweden with swimming beaches and I’m sure many birds. Just outside our door is one of the main attractions of Umeå. Lonely planet reads “Don’t miss Gammlia, a cluster of museums… cultural and historical exhibits…and Sami collections, modern art museum… Maritime museum. These are surrounded by Friluftsmuseet, an open-air historic village where staff wear period clothes and describe traditional homestead life.” According to our neighbor they have animals and vegetable gardens in the summer. Maybe I can take advantage of Sweden’s free day care system this summer for Amelia and be a volunteer gardener in Friluftsmuseet. And everyone, including the airline people in Chicago, is speaking Swedish to me, so I could pull off the old time Swedish look.
Pictures will come soon!
I hope this finds you all well. Have a wonderful and safe New Year’s Eve and New Years Day. We’ll likely be tromping around in the snow in the Stadsliden forest just behind our home.
