Faces of Sadness

Today was a very sad morning ... well first it was VERY chaotic!!!

At 7:45 am Anke decided to double check on her flight info and found out that her flight out of Oakland (easily 1.5 hours away during morning rush hour) was leaving at 10:05 instead of 1:05 pm as previously thought.

There was no way we'd make it.NO WAY!!! Absolutely no way!
The laundry was still washing, things were not packed, Jakob was playing in his PJ's with chocolate milk all over his face, Anke was in sweats and in complete shock and I was walking franticly back and forth and back and forth???
"What to do? What to do?" ... was going through my head.
In my shock I decided to make PB sandwiches for Jakob ... the kids has to eat right.
Everybody was racing, screaming, trying to make this somehow work.

 ... and then Pat came to the rescue!!!

While Anke and I ran frantically through the house he looked up her flight info again and seconds later announced, with total calmness in his voice, that 1:05 pm was indeed the correct departure time and that 10:05 was not the flight Greg had booked after all.

Holly sh ...!!! What a relieve!

We sat down, over coffee and pancakes and laughed our butts off re-living the chaos from minutes before.
Seriously, who makes sandwiches when you have only seconds to leave for the airport???

But then it was time for sadness :(

So sad!!!

NOT happy!!!

very quiet!

L takes her little "brother" by the hand

  

Saying good-bye ...

group hug

group kiss

VERY, VERY unhappy

We walked Anke and Jakob to the  security check point [against my better judgement!!!] to spend a few extra minutes with them, but the outcome was that I had to drag two screaming kids through the airport, while trying to not cry myself.

They were both so sad and cried for their Anke and Jakob until I stopped the car in front of  a Cost Plus World Market. I took them out, gave them a shopping basket and told them "buy as much chocolate as you like".

... that worked. For ALL thee of us!
$50 later (it's German chocolate ... you have to pay a high price for perfection :) I saw faint smiles on their faces. Chocolate does not make the hurt go away but it makes it sweeter and numbs the pain ;)

xoxo to Anke und Jakob
Have good travels and let us know you made it home well.
WE MISS YOU ALREADY!!!!
Eure CZs