Family Visit I

The long anticipated visit by my parents and brother finally happened, and the week went by in a blur. They arrived late on a Saturday night, and it was fun to surprise them with the baby still awake when I opened the front door. They were expecting him to be asleep and disappointed about having to wait until the next day to see him, so it was nice to see their reactions when I greeted them with baby in hand. We had a lazy, relaxed start on Sunday with a late picnic lunch at Farley Hill National Park. We then drove down the East Coast and showed them the scenic views of the windward side of Barbados. Monday was booked for a day of sailing on a catamaran, a first for us since we hadn't ventured on our own to do this yet, and a belated Xmas gift for the family. After a wonderful day of sailing on the west coast of Barbados, including a buffet lunch and plenty of rum punches at an open bar, I think we can all attest that it was easily one of the most enjoyable things to do on this island. I'm determined to go sailing at least once a quarter during our short time here, whether on our own or with our guests. I went to work on Tues & Wed, and the family spent lots of quality time with the baby at home. My mother was sweet enough to suggest that M and I take some time for ourselves, and we are so glad we took her offer. On Tues night, M and I went out on our first date in 7+ months, and had a wonderful evening. We went to a highly recommended restaurant and were not disappointed. It was located on the terrace of a beautiful, boutique, oceanfront hotel; the food was quite good, the candlelit ambiance was lovely, and we vowed not to let 7 more months go by!

On Wed evening, we took the family out to dinner at the Indian-Thai restaurant I have mentioned before, and it was a good choice. The next 3 days went by too quickly with visits to beaches, Bridgetown, Mount Gay Rum Factory, arts/crafts shops, etc. Dad started to feel ill, with a severe sore throat, fever, etc. so unfortunately, their time here also involved a visit to the urgent care clinic. Thankfully, I think he still enjoyed his time here overall, particularly with the baby. On Sat night, as their visit was approaching its end with an early Sun morning departure, my mother also started to feel ill. She got home okay and ended up going to the urgent care at home on Monday. My guess is they picked up something while traveling and it took its time in taking its toll. Crossing fingers that my brother manages to get by with his current sore throat and nothing worse.

In spite of my efforts to keep my mother out of the kitchen and make this a true vacation for her, she still managed to cook for us and pamper us as she always does (in addition to snacks/sweets she made at home and brought). S had a wonderful time with all of the attention he received for a whole week. Skyping regularly helped him not feel like they were strangers and we truly think he at least recognized their voices (he is likely too young to make out faces on a computer screen). I hate the feeling of a too-quiet house after it has been full of loved ones and laughter, and I think even S noticed the void on Sunday after we dropped off the family at the airport.