a visit home

Visiting home was just as hard as I thought it was going to be.  There was so much to cram into a 3 day trip, that I didn't really tell anyone I was going to be in town because I wanted to spend it all with my family.

So, I left work a little early, flew in.  and waited at the airport for 90 minutes because a truck got stuck under one of those low clearance bridges bringing traffic to a halt.  While I waited outside from 11:00 to 12:30 am, I watched the chaos of NYC airports.   I've always felt the traffic patterns dropping off and picking up is horrible...other big airports can do it so much more efficiently, that it is dreadful being picked up from anything other than a taxi or shuttle.  But I got a kick out of ladies who are prancing around in 5+ inch heels walking across the pickup area when cars are coming - knowing they will be holding up traffic but not that they will get hit.  The noise, the lights...I can't say I missed it.

I spent the first day having breakfast with a friend, her mother and my mother.  Then I spent time with one sister and her family, saw my grandmother who teared up because she misses me and having ethnic food, then seeing another sister and her family.  We even got in some Apples to Apples and Pictionary.  It was such an amazing day.  I was whipped out.

The following day my mother got us ticket to see "It Should Have Been You" a hysterical musical about a wedding...common stereotypes of Catholics, Jewish, homosexual all mixed together.   But before we did that, we took my mother to Ellen's Stardust Diner where the waitstaff sing songs.  It was fun.  Supposedly last year they lost 16 of their serves to Broadway.  Quite impressive.  And after listening to all them....I am not surprised, they had fantastic voices.  After we got back to the area, I had dinner with the family....pizza.  Even though the pizza out in Colorado kinda sucks, I can't say I missed the NY pizza anymore.  

 My last day was breakfast with a friend and then a picnic at the 'beach' with some sister's and parts of their families.  We played monkey in the middle, tried to skip shells, had lunch, and caught up.  The sand, the water....that is definitely something I miss.  Dinner was a big to do with most of the family.  We ordered Chinese from two different places because everyone is picky.  We had great conversation and when it came to opening our fortune cookies, we went around to guess, or rather, say what we thought our fortunes should be.  Shockingly my 9 year old nephew turns out to be a philosopher, he was dishing out proverbs and his own says left and right.  And for his turn, I was extremely close about his fortune, which turned out to be about courage.  When my turned rolled around, I got lots of great fortunes from my family, that made me tear up.  And then I open my cookie...and it was empty.  No fortune.  In the past I would have thought it was because I didn't have a future, but this time, it was because no fortunes could beat all the wonderful things that was predicted for me - what they said was perfect.  Everyone left and as I was packing, there was a knock on the door and it was my oldest nephew who couldn't make dinner and wanted to stop by and hang for a bit.  I can't believe how sweet he still is.

And then next thing I knew, it was time to leave and say good bye.

I kept thinking on the plane how I felt about New York and Colorado.  Where I think I belong.  The sacrifice of leaving my family for the potential for more happiness.  While I hated the airport, 'home' was fantastic and pretty.  I can see myself in both places.