Josh got up early this morning and did all our laundry before we left so we came home with clean clothes. It was the first time he did laundry all by himself without even asking me any questions. We packed up our presents and got to the airport without having to rush through. It was hard to remember how cold it is here, and when we saw other people lugging heavy coats onto the plane I was glad we had the luxury of not taking them with us.
I had figured Josh would have arranged a car to pick us up at the airport since that's how we got there. I hadn't figured he'd have arranged for my sisters to be in it. He hadn't figured it would make me cry. While we were in Florida I pushed so hard to not miss them and not feel bad they weren't also there, and when I saw them with their shit-eating grins at the airport it all slammed back into me.
We went home and I gave my sisters their presents. Danielle loved that she got something nobody else could have since hers was personalized by an astronaut. Josh was surprised the house wasn't trashed and we didn't see evidence of anything having gone wrong. I was disappointed that he was surprised. He tried to tell me it wasn't personal to Danielle and Al, that it's standard for any high schooler to throw a party when they're home alone, but it still stung. I was impressed they had money left over but Alex told me they ate breakfast for dinner a couple of nights, plus Laurie had them over a couple of times. I guess those, coupled with leftovers from fire family dinners meant they didn't need to buy as much.
It was so good to be home even though I had a lot of fun. It was so good to be able to walk out of our home and walk places. It was so good to touch my sisters, to see more people I know than just Josh, to know how to get places again.
Kind of sad to be back to the grind of school and work, back to the freezing cold, back to wearing boots instead of flip flops, but so happy to be back with my sisters. They put chocolates on our pillows, to ease us back into the harshness of non-vacation life.
6 comments:
I love it! Josh and your sisters are so cute. It's the little things, right? Glad you had a great trip and made it back home safe and sound. Welcome back to reality. :)
~C~
So glad you had a fun trip, but it's so sweet to read about your homecoming.
Lovely. Welcome back, Sam!!
gmg
how thoughtful of josh to have your sisters at the airport, he goes to great lengths to bring joy to you... you are all a marvelous team
Sam, this post really warmed my heart. Don't fault Josh for expecting less from your sisters than you did-he comes from a different set of experiences, and your sisters are really better than most teenagers by a LONG shot.
What a wonderful surprise to have "the girls" there to meet you.
He's really a thoughtful young man.
I have always enjoyed vacation, but I also love coming home.
And I agree that you shouldn't fault Josh too much for being surprised that nothing went wrong. You and your sisters have had to grow up in a hurry and have a level of maturity that most girls your ages don't.
Glad that you had a great time.
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