Packing Up

-
My sister, Queen of Legos, Cha-Cha, rocket scientist, universally accepted favorite went home today. She is probably in flight about now, watching the patchwork stream by below her, or maybe sleeping, possibly reading a book, or most likely is engaged in some kind of industrious activity. Joshua cried when she left even though she will be at our house for Christmas in three long short weeks. I put on a brave face.

This visit marked a true Thanksgiving for our family. In addition to mounds of food (which I did not help cook), we all grinned at a pie that had "Bud + Dot" (my Grandparents nicknames) poked into it's crust. Aunt Nancy, Uncle George and Aunt Mary Jane spent the day with us, played spoons and consequences, and generally reminded me how lucky I am with every blink of their eyes. There was also a moment where my Aunt Nancy looked exactly-to-a-t like my Grandmother and I almost called my Aunt Mary Jane by my sister's name.

Sprinkled into our visit were a few bittersweets. Like when I looked through my Grandmother's jewelry with my sister, deciding how to split it up. And when I saw a picture of my Grandpa that my Grandma painted. Or when I looked through my Grandfather's medals and belt buckles, his watches and hearing aid. And then when my hands touched Grandma's fine china, Grandpa's giant TV, Aunt Elda's china cabinet. Sweet but oh-so bitter.

Tomorrow we board a plane to fly home. Home to a daddy and Poppa and an uncle, home to a puppy and Christmas tree, home to my own bed and my own things, home to school days and everyday life. Home away from home, away from Dad and Mom, away from nieces and nephews, away from green chile and mountains that scrape the sky.

Home sounds sweet...but oh-so bitter too.

Comments

That Girl said…
It's always, always both.
10:52 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Carly,

-
Image
I assume that one day you will come to me wanting to know who you are, where you came from, where your other family is and why they gave you to us.  I offer you little bits of information already, but certainly not crumbs enough to satisfy the appetite.  Perhaps it won't matter to you.  I am assuming a lot, already, about how adoption will impact your life. People often wonder why adoptive parents are hurt when their children seek out biological roots.  I have the answer, and it's very simple.  Adoption - at its core - makes us question the legality, authority, voracity, and validity of parenthood.  For most adoptive parents, first you must come to terms with an issue that strikes at the foundations of mortality: fertility.  From birth, most of us are driven to form families.  First we are nestlings, nurtured and weened and eventually taught to fly.  Then we are nest-builders, filling our lives with the stuff necessary to drive life forward.  Knowledge, safety, money, a stur
Read more

M is for Mother

-
Motherhood is more than carrying a child in your womb for 9 months. Motherhood is more than daily wiping of noses, cleaning of faces, filling of bellies. Motherhood is more than driving, shopping, cleaning, cooking. Motherhood is part of being a Woman, but not all of it. It is part of growing up, for some of us. It is conducive to gaining appreciation, but not for everyone. I was still a child myself, really, when I became a Mother. Joshua and I did a lot of growing up together. We both learned a lot about sacrifice. I learned how to say good-bye to him in the morning, he learned that separation from Mother wasn't such a bad thing after all. Especially since he got to go to Grandma's house (which, sorry Disney, was the happiest place on earth). I learned I could love someone until my heart might burst and be completely enraged at the same time. He learned that the wrinkling of my forehead was not a good sign for anyone. We learned a lot about time, more specifically abo
Read more

And I didn't prepare a speech!

-
Image
My first, and probably only, blogger award! Yay! Thanks to That Girl in Brazil, not only uber cute but uber sweet. I'm supposed to pass on the love to other bloggers by linking them and then posting in their comments. But, seriously, how much more ad space do you guys need? Ok, ok, fine. I pick Mary cause she totally posted her flip flops. And justRandi cause she said she'd come to my house if I sent her an invite. And llegue because she made reference to a certain male body part while shopping in Wal-Mart, plus she beats me at games. and Heather because she makes me giggle and she comments even when my posts are lame. Just passin the <3 I feel super guilty for not linking everybody. But, you wouldn't be on my blog roll if I didn't think you were super cool.
Read more