Saturday night our friends Kate and Orestes were kind enough to come over for dinner. Pretty much throughout the month, any time we had plans with them we invariably called in the afternoon and sheepishly asked if they would mind just coming over and ordering food in. They always obliged.

It was great to get to spend some time reconnecting with Kate, getting to know Orestes better, and getting Katherine to be friends with them both.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Kate was calling me at 10:00 am on a random Thursday morning to give me grief for oversleeping and missing an Econ class at St. Olaf, which she did quite often.



Sunday was cleanup and packing day. We took time out to lounge a bit.

And then it was off to the airport. With Katherine in Bangkok 2 months, me there a month, the acquired baby stuff, and Marilyn and Luther's things, we had 8 checked bags, 5 carry-ons, a stroller and car seat. It was sick.

We arrived to find the line to check in extending out to the airport entrance. It moved relatively fast though. When we made it to the check-in counter, our stuff was over the total weight allowance for 5 passengers (Jack had a ticket). The lady at the counter waived it off with a smile, which was nice.

Next to us, however, was a guy who wasn't having nearly as much luck. He was yelling about how he had been waiting for 2 hours to fix a problem that was not his fault, and now someone had disappeared with his credit card and he was going to miss his flight. I kind of felt sorry for the guy, but he was going to get nowhere yelling at the staff like he was. In Thailand, losing your temper gets you nowhere, as the people you are yelling at basically shut down and you lose face. When we left he was still huffing and puffing. My guess is he missed his flight.

And then home. Our stuff is still piled about here and there, but at least we've got Jack's bed and changing table all set up. He's even got his very own mosquito net.