Selamat Datang Ayah!!

Three very tired people greeted each other. Leonie and Delaney sprawled in the lounge, having been at the airport for three hours, their sense of excitement and expectation spiked by non-arrival. By the time they'd been informed of the flight I was on, they'd already sat through two planes from Sydney disembarking. For the original 10.20am arrival time, they were giddy with excitement, at the doors, waiting for me to walk by. Only when the room was emptied of people did it set in that I must be on the next plane. I wasn't. Same thing happened with Greta, a few years back, when she had to transfer at Sydney.

Girls had made a sign for me, as they'd done in 2005 when I returned from Indonesia. This year's sign said: Selamat Datang Ayah! Welcome Home, Dad! Managed to stay awake. Picked up Tallulah from school; when she saw me, she burst into a run! No waiting around at the airport for her.

The family unit is back together. Including Kucing, who hasn't changed much. That afternoon, unpacked. Gift time. Sorted out shirts. Books. Magazines. Opened all the packages of stuff sent from Salatiga and Solo. A few more to come from Jakarta.

Chips for tea, one of the items on my food list that I maintained in Indonesia, which includes bread, muffin, coffee, yoghurt, blue cheese, pasta, Tim Tams, and Cherry Ripe. Crashed at 6pm.