The long trip home started at 4:30 a.m. on New Years Day in Heidelberg. In the little apartment above the Boyo's hospital room, I showered, ate a little cereal, and obsessively checked and rechecked that I had my passport, train ticket, and airline confirmation. I'd had less than three hours sleep and didn't want to lose anything. Even though it was hard to leave, I wanted to get home.
I asked the hospital's information desk to call me a taxi, which I met at the Emergency Room entrance. It arrived surprisingly quickly with a female driver, the first I'd seen on this trip. Soon we were headed down the Schlierbacher Landstrasse along the Neckar toward the Hauptbahnhof. As we approached the Altstadt, we saw dozens of New Years revelers who tried to flag the taxi down. The Hauptbahnhof? crawling with people on their way home. At 5:30 a.m. Clearly, Heidelberg is a city that seriously knows how to party.
But let's backtrack a bit. Let me tell you a bit more about the trip. Here's the Boyo's house:
And here's where he fell:
I know. Ouch. We're lucky, really lucky, that he survived the fall. The ankle is a mess, but the repair is masterful. According to our chiropractor (yes, I returned with x-rays for her to view), "it's the cleanest I've ever seen!"
This wing of the hospital is where we both stayed. My little apartment was two floors above the Boyo's room.
Heidelberg is a very picturesque city, and the Stiftung Orthopädische Universitätsklinik is itself rather picturesque.
My cousins, the Achdumeinenases, made an overnight visit to see me and the Boyo.
And the Boyo's girlfriend was a daily visitor. He was always happy to see her.
The view from the little apartment by night:
And by day:
And that's about it. Other than running errands and doing laundry, I spent most of the rest of my time just sitting with the Boyo and knitting the new and improved pair of Fraternity Flag socks. I did have an hour or so on a not-too-cloudy day to walk around the Altstadt and take a few photos:
But by far, the best thing was seeing the Boyo acting like himself.
And, oh! at midnight, at the turn of the year, there were fireworks! Not the official kind, the personal kind, and all over the river valley, even right by the hospital. So I stood alone at my window and watched as they exploded for forty minutes.
And then I tried to sleep, which brings us around again to the beginning of this post. Leaving Heidelberg, the 6:03 train for Flughafen Frankfurt am Main was packed with happy revelers. I felt very emotional the whole way home, eyes welling up at the oddest moments and also at the most predictable spots in the in-flight entertainment. I napped a bit, but never really slept. I sat and breathed, and by 1:10 p.m.Pacific time I was home. Meeting Mr. Celia at the gate, I wept in his arms. By 5 p.m., I was in the bosom of my family at brother Mike's annual New Years feast.
One kid's in Europe, the other's in Asia. It's been a lonely, uncomfortable, anxious, beautiful, very different, and unforgettable holiday season. Enough with the excitement! I would like a little boring, please. And calm and quiet. I'm ready to slow down, breathe, relax, and wear................. wait for it.................. pajamas. Isn't it about time?
