At sometime around 8:00 this morning, {London time} a taxi will be arriving to collect our many bags and four selves for a ride through the busy business of London to Heathrow. And at some time around 10:00, Lord willing, we’ll be allowed to pre-board a plane with our small children in preparation for take-off. And around 11:00 this morning that plane should be taking off, destined for Raleigh-Durham International Airport. And around 2:45 this afternoon, North Carolina time, that plane should be landing.

But before the joyful excitement of Mama-cooked meals, first days at preschool, and unpacking the suitcases we’ve lived out of for almost three months — before we even pile those suitcases into the car — I have one more mission in mind, another photographic one.

This was the moment when G-pa met the Bear in Cape Town airport in 2008:

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{The Bear meets the Man in the Yellow Hat, New Year’s Eve, 2008}

And now, G-pa will meet the Tank for the first time in Raleigh-Durham airport, right here in 2011. So I’d like to stage a similar shot for posterity’s sake. But we’ll bear in mind that this baby has more weight and, for some reason, less hair.

Hopefully the same’s not true for you, Gpa? 😉

So here we are, the day has finally arrived! And it’s not just the day we fly for the Carolinas, it’s the last day for which we have clean underwear for the Bear. So I think we’re all in agreement. If you’re out of clean underwear, it’s time to head home.

Catch you on the left side!

xCC