Last Sunday was a momentous day for us! We welcomed our first overseas visitor to our new home. Kris' mom, henceforth known as "Didi", flew in from Canada via Frankfurt like a breath of fresh air. Renee, and only Renee, accompanied Kris to the Arlanda airport to meet her beloved Didi. She was awarded this distinction because she was expected to attend a birthday party later that afternoon and so would be missing "Didi-time"! Didi was alert and upbeat upon arrival. She had single-handedly met the challenges of the Frankfurt airport head-on and won!
Following a whirlwind tour of our home, Didi put her feet up and regaled us with tales of the interesting people she had met on her flights. We didn't let her sit still for long, though, fearful that she may fall asleep and not wake up until the middle of the night. Didi has the remarkable talent of falling deep asleep when she reads or watches TV (something she vehemently denies, even though the snoring tells us otherwise!). We went out for a brisk walk to give Didi a chance to see the neighbourhood. From the very first moment Didi entered our home, she joined in our daily routines and hasn't stopped yet!
Kris and the kids headed off to work and school on Monday morning (not without a fight on the part of the kids) and Didi and I got busy. After a few errands in the morning and a quick lunch, we headed into the school art room to help out with costume decoration for Elise's Year 6 show, Ocean Commotion coming up on April first. If Didi had expectations of being a spectator, they flew out the window pretty fast! She was enlisted to make a tuna fish, the details of which greatly exceed the aim of this blog!
Tuesday morning shone bright and sunny. The kids tried the same arguments as the day before, to no avail. Didi and I kept ourselves busy with errands. It was fun to play tour guide, and to amaze Didi with all of the knowledge I've accumulated in the last two months. We had planned that Tuesday would be the day that we celebrated the upcoming birthdays of Renee and Graeme with Didi. She had stuffed her suitcase with presents for the kids and could hardly wait for them to open them. Didi hit the target with three bulls-eyes! Renee was thrilled to receive a copy of Romeo and Juliet (she is currently in a Shakespeare craze!), Graeme stood tall and proud in his knight's accessories (although the girls cowered in fear!), and Elise was over-the-top, pleased-as-punch to receive the fourth book by Stephanie Meyer (even though it isn't her birthday!).
Wednesday and Thursday flew by, and before we knew it, Friday had arrived. Didi accompanied Kris and I into the city for our Swedish lesson. She promised to sit quietly and not to laugh. She even had the opportunity to try out some Swedish with us! After our lesson, we headed into Gamla Stan, the old town, for lunch. We ate at a cozy Italian place that Kris and I had been to before, and took a short tour through the cobblestone streets before we had to head back to the subway to catch our ride home. Didi had graciously agreed to stay in with the kids that night, so Kris and I could go out on a date. We headed to the mall in Kista to see a movie and do a little shopping.
It has been a lot of fun showing off our new home, school and city to Didi. She has been a great house guest and a wide-eyed tourist. Our adventures continue with Saturday's visit to Gamla Stan with the children, and Sunday's tour of the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet--stay tuned!
