We had big plans for August. We did a lot of coordination to get five of us flying out of Boston on the same evening and in the same direction. Mer and Ewan had to return to Northern Ireland. Larry was headed to the Irish Republic for work, and would of course pop up to Northern Ireland to see Mer’s new digs. Mom and I flew to the Hague to meet up with Elliot and Alexa and spend some real quality time with the kids. This was mom’s first trip to the Netherlands (minus a quick stopover during a cruise). It was also her first big travel since recovering from her back injuries.

We rented an airbnb less than 15 minutes from E & A’s home. It had a big couch that sat us all comfortably as we played Mario Cart. It had the luxury of a large private garden with a large gathering table and a large patio sofa. It was on the ground floor with no stairs, and it was in a great walkable neighborhood with a great little shopping strip just one block over. It really worked well. Unfortunately, mom was fighting a cough and cold for the entire trip. And she also got injured when a clueless individual stomped on her foot in passing and managed to remove her big toenail. Mom was a trooper, though, and she didn’t let any of that stop her from having a great time with her favorite grandson and his favorite person. We went to museums and restaurants, we played lots of Tuck, Geoff, and Mario Cart. We really enjoyed our time in the Hague. We took a day trip to Leiden to see Elliot sign his name in the prestigious Sweat Room. We took another day trip to Delft to tour the pottery factory and enjoy a High Tea in the courtyard. We also spent a day in the Hague at two museums with a picnic lunch of delicious sandwiches in between the Girl with the Pearl Earring and MC Escher.

Towards the end of our time at the Hague, Larry flew in to join us for a couple days. Together we did some picking and grinning, spent an evening meeting (and being very impressed by) some of Elliot and Alexa’s friends, and then we capped it all off with a big family dinner at a lovely French restaurant, where the head of NATO and the former PM of the Netherlands came and sat at the table next to ours. Then we started dividing again.

This time Larry went into Amsterdam on Saturday night. He took Amy up on the offer to stay overnight closer to the airport and his 6am flight. They were able to catch up, tho Larry was beginning to feel poorly and assumed he had just caught the cold that mom, dad, and Merrie all had to deal with. (Never have we been so wrong.) Sunday morning he flew to Ireland, then to Boston. He was supposed to continue on to a business meeting in Tampa, but by the time he landed he was too ill to proceed. He made his way to camp and isolated, thinking he was contagious and not wanting to re-infect my parent.

The same Sunday that Larry made it back to camp in NH, mom and I — escorted by Elliot — headed into Amsterdam for our last two nights in the Netherlands. Alexa was also feeling poorly so stayed home. Elliot walked me one of the campuses of the University of Amsterdam, his new employer. Then Elliot and mom went off to the Van Gogh museum. Amy and I toured a brothel. We all met back up at our favorite spot to people watch, which we’ve dubbed Schadenfreude Ecke. And then we headed to our favorite Indonesian restaurant for a delicious rice table (Elliot’s treat!) The following day we went to the Rijksmuseum , had lunch at LouieLouie, took a rest back at the hotel, before hitting the casino on our way to dinner at Bonnie’s with Amy and her sweetie, Huib, joining in for the festivities.

Then it was time to continue dividing. This time mom was heading back to the states and I was heading over to Munich to visit my dear friend, Jo. Elliot met us at the airport and took great care of his nana and his mama. It was a tearful goodbye for all of us. Mom made it back to camp. Larry was still ill.

In Munich I had the pleasure of simply being with my friend and her family. We played games. We ate. We relaxed. We enjoyed her hot tub. We talked and laughed and exchanged stories of our recent travels. I fretted about Larry. We also had a lovely lunch with another friend and fellow mom from BIS, Stacia. That really filled my little cup. I was looking so forward to catching up with some other friends later in my visit. Unfortunately, I ended up leaving Munich very quickly when, back home, Larry was admitted to the hospital, not for flu or covid, but for a variation of Lyme that is rare and dangerous.

Mom brought Larry to the ER when his symptoms started increasing in variety and intensity. He was quickly diagnosed and admitted to a local hospital. Lori dropped everything and came down to offer support, to help translate the medical jargon, and to stand in for me until I could get there in person. It was a scary time, but he had excellent care, and his doctors are all confident that his cardiac health is good and that after a period of convalescence he will make a full recovery.

Now we are back to relying on technology to keep in touch with the kids. Thank god for WhatsApp. With family chats we learned that Ewan is teaching Meredith how to sail. Elliot has started his new teaching job. Alexa has returned from a conference in Nigeria, and is very busy with work and side hustles. The kids are all enjoying the last bits of summer, socializing, playing, and starting new jobs and school years.

August went by so quickly. We have only a few days left in the month, one of them being Larry’s birthday. I’m pretty sure I know what he will be wishing for when he blows out his candles this year.