"I won't be home for Christmas...we're going home"

HOORAY!!!!! A couple weeks ago, I'd been sad thinking of missing my first family Christmas at home, and what to do with Caden (I assume Santa can make it to India but) and my mom kept talking about canceling Christmas... when all the signs started to come together. My backfill started at work, goal-setting season is upon us and I needed to take a business trip to MN...before the end of January. I can imagine mom's dismay if I showed up on the 29th...what if I took a week off before the business trip? And so my trip to MN was decided. After a little deliberation (the tickets cost HOW much?!?!?!?!), Wade and I decided to just do it and buy tickets for him and Caden. It's only money, and Christmas is priceless.
Then the conversation turned to how to get there...should we stop somewhere along the way to break up the journey? It was cheaper to negligibly more expensive to stop someplace in Europe...let's check the globe, what place are "on the way" between Bangalore and Minneapolis? Huh, you should fly right over Cairo...And so also decided, what the heck, if you're going for broke...let's make a stop in Cairo our Christmas present to each other. And so not only are we going to be in MN for Christmas, we get to stop in Egypt along the way!! It seems surreal. On our flight to Port Blair last week Caden asked if we were going to Egypt now..."no honey, that's next week" was the bemusing reply. :)
I feel incredibly lucky and happy to be going home...and Egpyt. WOW. But Christmas has snuck up on me (maybe because it's 80 and there are no holiday displays to be found). And I'm not ready. And it's that sort of college days strange when people ask you if you'll be "home" for Christmas...uh, which home?? I'm going to miss everyone here (and oddly perhaps, being here/home for Christmas) and it's just a short trip.. seems this place is more home than I thought. Yet, the dreams of family, and food and driving have started...I can't wait to see everyone and am truly blessed.
Happy Holidays everyone, and wish you all the best in the New Year!