First of all, my mom flew down here to see us on Sunday night. She spent Monday and Tuesday with us here. Monday I had to meet with the contractor guys about the house (which took way longer than it should have - that slow southern drawl can slow a person down!) and Tuesday we packed to head to Maryland. Not exactly two days of relaxation, but I'll take it! Next time she comes, I'll pack ahead of time.
Our drive to Maryland went well. It was rainy and sunny. There was no traffic, then we sat in some in VA for about 30 minutes. We stopped to eat Chick-Fil-A, which cost us about another 20 minutes, but it was worth it. We got to Maryland 12 hours later, which was 13 hours on the clock since we lost an hour because of the time difference. I visited with my dad for about an hour, then we all went to sleep.
Thursday I got to see Stephanie, which was so nice. The last time I saw her was the end of June (since she was in NY all through July), so it was great to see her. Unfortunately it was bad timing because she is starting a new job and throwing a GIANT birthday party for her daughter. She was stressed and scattered.
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| Kara and Ellie (Stephanie's daughter) |
Friday I saw my sister a bit, then Stephanie a bit more (while my family picked Uncle Jay and Kalli up from the airport). Once they arrived they ate dinner and we talked. Kara taught Kalli (who is 22) to play rummy and they played for a little while. Kara has loved Kalli from the first time we met her. I don't know what it is about her, but Kara opened up right away. Even if I didn't know Kalli very well, that would make me love her. But I do know her and happen to agree with Kara - Kalli is pretty fabulous. Uncle Jay is too! He is a happy go lucky guy who laughs all the time. Nothing disappoints him or makes him not like you. My kind of guests! My kind of family!
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| Aunt Christina is the SWEETEST |
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| Rummy time! |
Saturday was swimming, Uncle Paul came over, and it was a kind of mini-family reunion. Kara talked everyone into playing rummy with her - including my sister and my dad. My dad has been looking for something they have in common to do with her, and we finally found the perfect thing! They played cards for hours and hours and hours. The Stewart family tradition lives on.
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Uncle Jay (my mom's brother), his daughter Kalli (who
looks even more like my mom than I do!), and Kara |
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Christina and Kalli. Kalli's 22 year old skin is absolutely
flawless and I'm so jealous! She is so young and pretty -
inside and out. I just love her. |
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Mom with her brothers. Mom grew up with Jay and Darlene.
Darlene passed away and now they are reunited with their
half brother, Paul, who looks nothing like them. lol! |
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| Brothers <3 |
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Getting ready for the picture with everyone. Tony isn't
even posing yet. My dad, sister, and cousin look great,
so I put this up here. :-) |
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They said, we're all standing in a line, we should raise our
knees like the Rockette's! Goofballs. |
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Of course there had to be some upside
down uncle time. Kara ADORES
her Uncle Tony. He's the smartest,
strongest, funniest, best guy around -
next to Daddy. |
Sunday we went to DC because Uncle Jay had it in his head that he wanted to go to "the Smithsonian." I tried to tell him the Labor day crowds would be crazy. I tried to tell him it would be hot. I tried to tell him there are something like 12 Smithsonians and he had to pick one. I don't think he liked the crowds and I don't think he saw all he wanted to see, but I think he still had a good time and he kept saying how he can now say that he has gone to "the" Smithsonian. Okie dokie!
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On the subway with Uncle Jay. We both agreed this one
on one time together was the best part of the whole day. |
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| Mom and Kalli on the train. Good aunt/niece time. |
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| Washington Monument |
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| Washington Monument |
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| Natural History Museum |
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| DC subway |
The heat and walking and all of that had us all not feeling so great and most of us had headaches. Poor Kalli had a full blown migraine and had to just go to bed. Mom made an AMAZING dinner and those of us who were feeling up to it went to Christina's house for a fire.
Monday we all kind of chilled. Dad took Jay and Kalli to the driving range, Christina came over late to have dinner and play makeup with us, I watched the second half of the Alabama game with my dad. Chill. It wasn't until Monday night when Mom and Uncle Jay started talking about their childhood memories. This is the stuff I love. My dad is more open about his childhood because that's therapeutic for his personality, but my mom just doesn't say anything. It's easier for her to lock it all in a vault and not let it out. So I really don't know a lot. Her childhood wasn't the nightmare that my dad's was, but she (and her siblings) had a lot of really awful things happen to them too. The good memories are few and far between - and they always involve their adoptive parents (their aunt and uncle - the people I knew as my grandparents). My uncle still cries in front of all of us when stuff comes up about their birth parents. Poor little babies. Thank you, God, for sending them their aunt and uncle.
Tuesday we got up and drove home! No traffic. Minimal stops. 11 hours (which was 10 hours on the clocks since we gain an hour because of the time difference).
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| Heading home |
So, that's the quick overview. Here's how it felt. Mom came Sunday night and I loved it. Kara and I drove down our little two lane road for an hour and a half to the airport and it was delightful. We don't mind time in the car (when it isn't stressful), and knowing we'd see Grandma soon was so exciting. We picked her up from our tiny little airport and drove back home. Mom and I talk frequently enough that we had stuff to say, but only stuff from the last few days. I love it!
Our guest bedroom upstairs is so hot (the curse of the upstairs vs downstairs and how do you keep it cool). The first night it was bearable for her, but the second night it was really yucky. I am doing and have done all I can. Multiple story houses just stink and I'm ready to go to a ranch house next. She was perfectly lovely about it and insisted she slept fine up there. Michael wasn't home (he was on a business trip) and I told her she should come sleep with me, but that wouldn't work because I snore too loudly for her! Ugh. Just a little while longer then she will have a dream room in our new house.
Mom was super into playing rummy with Kara because Kara was so excited about it. Let me tell you how many card games my mom has played in her life before this - like 10. She does not like cards nearly as much as we do and she rarely played. I don't remember her playing with me much, if at all. But she had a BALL playing with Kara. THIS IS WHY GRANDMAS SHOULD COME TO THEIR GRANDKIDS HOUSES. THE MOMMIES COOK AND GRANDMA HAS TIME TO PLAY. Sorry for shouting - I feel strongly about this. Whenever we go to Grandma's house (either one), Grandma is too busy cooking and cleaning and hosting she doesn't have time to play. Come here, ladies. We LOVE having you!
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Here they are on Grandma's tablet. Mom would kill
me if I posted pictures of them playing cards while
she had no makeup on. |
Oh! Mom also played in Kara's sand pile with her. In the blazing hot 95 degree heat. *sigh* Grandmas are amazing. I'll never know what that love is like because I didn't have a grandma like that, but I'm so glad Kara has TWO! I know Vicky would be in the sand pile and woods and playing cards just like my mom did. <3
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I told the worker guys they could use the sand on one
side of the pile and Kara would play on the other
side. They are the sweetest guys! They were
happy to see Kara having fun. :-) |
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Kara found a toad living in the sand. She
loves him even though he pees on her
hand multiple times each time she
holds him. Poor toad. |
Wednesday we got in the car and headed north. Driving through our town and weaving over our lake for about an hour driving north was so pretty in the morning while I sipped my coffee. Then I saw the state line and from the time I left Alabama until we crossed back into it, I had a sadness in my heart. This is home. I haven't been away from friends and family long enough to really miss them, so I'm not ready to leave Alabama. We have dreamt of living here for like 10 years and I don't want to leave. The whole time I was in Maryland this weekend driving those familiar roads, stuck in traffic, I felt like the move never happened. It made me sad. It would have been nice to see everyone we saw - only here in Alabama. :-D Our next visit is in October and we're going to visit my parents in Florida. I think this will be much better because we will see them in their home without being in Maryland. Maybe this all sounds weird, but it makes total sense in this crazy brain of mine.
I talked to Michael about it - he was in Maryland on his business trip - isn't that funny? I asked if he knew what I meant about the sadness and he totally agreed. He said a lady in the airport said it best - he heard her talking on her phone saying, "I can't wait to get back to Alabama where everything makes sense and feels right." Yep. That.
God put in our hearts to love it here and it's intense. All three of us just want to BE HERE. Maybe it's just because it was so soon, who knows. We plan to go back to Maryland for the week of Thanksgiving - maybe it'll be different then because more time will have passed. Either way, I don't plan to be there 7 days just because I said "week." I'm thinking 4-5 is what we'll do.
Kara's stomach was upset off and on all day while we drove home on Tuesday. I think it was being over tired and maybe a little anxious. As soon as we crossed that state line, we both felt much better.
We are on this journey now and all we can do is walk obediently one step forward at a time. In my next post I'll tell you how we are connecting and digging some roots in here.
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