I'll begin with this morning, and backtrack from there. This morning was what I was dreading since they got here last Sunday. We had to say, "See ya soon."
My youngest sister and her 14-month-old daughter were the first to leave this morning. I got out of bed and found them sitting in my daughter's room. My niece was sitting up eating her oatmeal with bananas smashed up in it. She had it all over her face and it was adorable. She had this big turquoise bow in her hair and it made her eyes look even bigger and browner. She's the lucky one. She had no idea that we were saying our goodbyes. My sister and I hugged tightly. She was crying as she told me what a great time they had. As I'll explain later, this trip has not exactly been easy for her, but she says she would do it again in a heartbeat, and I know that she would. I love those girls so much. They were such troopers during their visit, and the visit just didn't last long enough.
Next, it was time for my mom, my other sister, her husband, and their two boys to leave. Why does a week have to go so quickly? My mom came in and talked to my husband and I about how much she loved visiting and had a great time. She enjoyed everything that we did, and we did a lot! She was finishing up packing her suitcase all up as she was talking. She looked beautiful. I told her it looked like she was going to a supermodel convention and not getting ready to go take a flight home!
When she went into my son's room to love on him for awhile, the sweetest thing happened. She was telling him how much she loves him and how she prays for him every single day and loved coming to see his new house. All of the sudden, my son said, "My eyes are watering for some reason." My mom replied, "For some reason, mine are watering too." You see, my son always does his best not to cry. We have never discouraged crying, that is just how he is. He loves his mamaw, and hated to see her leave, but didn't want to admit to crying about it. What a precious moment!
My sister was busy all morning packing the perfect "carry on" to take care of her two boys for the flights home. Her oldest son turned five while they were here, and her youngest son is 18 months. She was cutting up strawberries, packing bananas, gathering fruit snacks and granola bars, and making sure they had books and other activities. As she was preparing the bags, her husband was carrying up luggage and chasing after their youngest son. They were packed and ready to go right on schedule. That is typical of them. They are always on time!
My son and her son are best friends. They were struggling about this being the "last day." They had such a great time. They never stopped to rest for an entire week. They played and they played hard! Then they would get up early the next day to do it again! I've never seen so much energy! My son and my sister's son have been best friends since they were born. We always say they have a love/hate relationship. They will get along for hours. They'll play, run, explore, make messes and get into all kids of trouble together. Then, out of nowhere, the fun and games are over. Our boys are fighting like the worst of enemies. They will swear that they are never playing together again. Then, 15 minutes later, they're running off together laughing. That's what family is all about! They've already planned what they are going to do the next time they visit!
My sister's 18-month-old ran around all morning exploring. He is high on energy and temper, but he is also high on love. He is into absolutely everything. He can throw a fit like nothing I've ever seen before. He is as hard-headed as they come; however, he is also a loverboy. Every morning, as soon as he would see me coming down the stairs, he would point to me and smile. He says "thank you," for everything. He can throw a screaming fit, and then look at you with those big blue eyes and smile, and, by then, you've already forgotten about the fit!
We carried all of their luggage out to the van. My husband and son were going to drive them to the airport. I hugged my mom so tightly. How could I ever let her go? It is so nice having her around. Sometimes when my mom is around, I get to the the "kid" again. It's comforting. I thought about trying to pick her up and carry her back to the house and maybe lock her in one of the bedrooms. That is what my heart wanted to do, but my head was telling me I had to let her go. She assured me that she was praying for my headaches and she knows I am going to receive a total healing. I believe that too. My mom is simply amazing.
My sister and I hugged. We both just wanted to stand there and cry. As soon as the tears started to build in our eyes, my sister said, "For some reason, my eyes are watering. It must be these crazy allergies." That broke the ice. We were able to laugh instead of cry. I know that's the way it should be. We went from living a mile apart and seeing each other every day, to living 600 miles apart. That transistion has been difficult; however, we are both very strong and determined.
This has been one of the most fun-filled, action-packed, chaotic, no-sleep, calorie-intaking weeks I've ever had. When you have seven adults, one teenager, two kids and two toddlers under the same roof for one week, there are bound to be many ups and many downs. We were no exception. We enjoyed every "up," and stuck together during every "down."
My youngest sisters flight was delayed, then cancelled, then rescheduled, so she got here later than expected. Still, she made it and had a fabulous time!
The week they all arrived just happened to be a "heat wave." Being outdoors, with the exception of being in the pool, was almost unbearable. Still, we carried on with all of our outdoor plans.
We took all of the kids to the Bronx Zoo and got stuck on the monorail. I thought we were going to suffocate due to the heat. We didn't! It's actually something we are laughing about now!
All 12 of us took the train into NYC. The heat was absolutely unbelievable and dreadful! Still, we spent about ten hours there. We ate at the Stardust Diner and danced and sang to the music as we ate. Also, while there, as my sister was holding her daughter, water started to gush out and hit the floor! It was all over my sister and we were thinking, "Where in the world is all of this coming from?" We were even looking up at the ceiling thinking that maybe there was a leak. Well, there was a leak, but it wasn't from the ceiling. My niece was peeing like nothing we had ever seen before and it was pouring out the top of her diaper. They were literally standing in a massive puddle of pee. My niece had a change of clothes, and my sister had the unfortunate experience of walking around the city smelling like urnine all day! It was quite an experience.
We went into several stores and took in all of the sights and smells of the big city. My mom, sisters and I spotted the "Naked Cowboy" and we all posed with him for some hilarious pictures. When he turned around and said, "Let's get some shots from behind," my mom took off! She wanted no part of that! My sisters and I were cracking up!
We went down to South Street Seaport and took the ferry to Staten Island. We wanted to get a little closer to the Statue of Liberty. We had never taken the Staten Island Ferry, and even though it was brutally hot, we loved the exprience.
One day, my niece started running a fever that just kept getting higher and higher. My other sister and brother-in-law, and my husband and I had dinner reservations at a nice spot overlooking the beautiful Hudson River and the Tappan Zee Bridge. We enjoyed our dinner immensely and then went walking to a local ice cream shop. As we were eating, we got a call telling us that our niece's fever was almost 105 and they could not get it down. We rushed home and three of us drove them to the ER. We were there until almost 1:30AM. It turns out she had picked up a virus and it was wreaking havoc on her little body. As they were trying to get meds down her she vomited everywhere....and I mean everywhere! My husband and daughter had to run home to get my sister another outfit because she was covered from head to toe. It was horrible.
Finally, the fever bagan to come down and they were comfortable letting us leave with strict instructions. We ended up being up until around 6AM! Again, sleep was not something we did a lot of! The next day, the fever was easily controlled by meds and she is well on her way to a full recovery!
Last night, my mom and I took the train back into the city for some sightseeing and to visit Creflo Dollar's church at the Manhattan Center. He is a preacher that she watches every day. I enjoyed the time with just my mom and me. We were able to talk, laugh, take pictures and just savor being together! We devoured red velvet cake and a wheat-free brownie. When it was time to go, she got us a taxi, got in, and simply said, "Grand Central Station." She turned into a regular New Yorker! It was priceless!
Of course, we missed our train by about four minutes! It was no big deal. We just took the next one and got home an hour later than expected.
We got home and soon a competetive monopoly game broke out. At about 1:30AM, my daughter finally won the game by beating her dad and uncle.
There was another highlight to the week! My nephew learned to jump off the side of the pool and swim underwater. He arrived swimming in a life jacket, and left SWIMMING in the deep end! What an accomplishment!
Throughout our week, while here at home, it seems that one of the babies was always napping, and we were trying to make everyone else be quite. One baby slept in the basement, and from down there, it sounded like a herd of elephants lived upstairs. The other baby slept upstairs on the second floor, and it was like every noise made traveled up those stairs right into her room to wake her. The babies didn't get much sleep either!
My family loved our house and location. I think they have more peace now knowing exactly where we are in the world! Now, when I call them and say, "I took my son to the barbershop," or "We went to Coldstone tonight," they will know exactly what we are talking about. They will be able to envision it.
It is back to the reality of skyping, texting, and talking on the phone. I won't wake up to them each morning in my kitchen fixing breakfast and laughing. I don't have my "built in" shopping buddies here anymore. They even made going to the grocery store fun!
No matter where we live, or how far apart we are as far as mileage is concerned, we are still a family. We know how to have a great time despite any circumstance, and we love unconditionally.
Having them in our home for the past week has been pure joy. Every single solitary second of their visit made my heart happy.
I am blessed beyond measure to experience the kind of love that my family pours out. It is overflowing and beautiful.
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