The Journey Continues

My kids have been back in Israel for for 8 and 6 months, respectively, both serving in the Israeli military.  As lone soldiers, soldiers without immediate family in the country, they are entitled to 8 days off for a family visit.  So, I’m heading back to Israel for a fast visit with them.

My summer trip began with a concatenation of delays and cancelations resulting in my making it to my daughter’s graduation with 5 minutes instead of 24 hours to spare.   The pace of most of the rest of the trip was quite leisurely.  We don’t have any pressing deadlines for getting there, but once we do arrive, we’ll have to fill every moment with this abbreviated sojourn.

I say we, because for this trip, my wife will actually be able to make the trip. She was battling some health issues over the summer and wasn’t able to travel then. We initially planned on going in January, but the Omicron wave delayed our trip. We thought about pushing it back to summer time, but the ticket my wife had purchased last June will expire sometime in May. So, we leave today.

My father-in-law was initially going to join us on the trip, but concerns over a growing wave of Covid infections in Israel and the possibility of being stuck or quarantined, led him to postpone his trip.

So, we are spending our 22nd wedding anniversary in airports and airplanes, feasting on the finest of airline cuisine, shoe-horned alongside the multitudes of our new best friends while commiserating about the food, the service and the general state of airline

But, this is the price we pay for the week ahead: seeing our children, exploring Israel with them, enjoying the comfort of two very nice Airbnbs, and taking in the sights, sounds, and tastes of Israel.