Eight Long Years

My dad loves to give me a hard time about the "two years" we spent in England. It was actually just five months, but apparently it was bigger in his mind. It doesn't bother him that we then lived in the Dallas area for 3.5 years. It's just that we had the audacity to exit the borders of our lovely state for any amount of time. My response is always, "Have you forgotten that your other daughter left Texas eight years ago and still hasn't come back? And does it mean nothing that I have now given you two grandchildren? Who live 15 minutes from you?" Nope. There's no way I can make up for the treason of leaving Texas for a European country where they sip tea and have strict gun ownership laws.

As far as I know, my dad hasn't given my sister much of a hard time about her eight years away. Isn't that typical for the baby of the family? The baby gets away with everything. Not that I'm bitter. Now that I have two kids I feel compassion for both sides.

I'm here today to tell you that after eight long years in the midwest and the southeast, my sister Melissa has finally come home! And Colin is on his way with the U-Haul! My big sister heart is very happy. Colin has just changed jobs and his new one will allow him to be in Houston for the time being. Praise the Lord!

Mom flew to Atlanta on Wednesday and Melissa picked her up from the airport in a packed car. They headed straight for the highway to Texas and didn't look back. I know Melissa was sad to leave her friends and her little newlywed nest, but she was also excited to come home. I'm unspeakably grateful to Heather and Janet, who made Melissa and Colin a part of their families while they lived in Atlanta.

Last night I went to my parents' house just before their arrival so I could greet Melissa in the driveway with balloons and party horns. It was so much fun. Dad got home a few minutes later and we had a little celebration - just the four of us. The highlight may have been the group hug during which we simultaneously blew our party horns. Dad had just been on a big hunting trip and he brought in a fresh deer head (on ice) with trophy horns for us to admire. I nearly puked, but I think it was a great deer as far as deer go. After our appetites recovered, we went to a favorite hole in the wall Tex-Mex restaurant that is decorated with tinsel perennially and leaves the smell of fajitas in one's hair overnight. On the way home we begged Mom to drive us through the neighborhood and look at Christmas lights like old times. The evening was a great gift.

Mom took this with her phone and I'm not sure we have pupils, but here's a pic of our party in the front yard.

I'm excited for my kids that Aunt Melissa (AB calls her Sassa) and Uncle Colin will be a regular part of their lives for this season. I can't wait to do all the things that sisters do when they live in the same city. The last time Melissa and I both lived in Houston, we were teenagers and we got along about as well as Tom and Jerry. I'm ready for a do-over!