Highlights...

I am in the middle of my trip "back East."  While I am unable to upload photos at the moment, I will leave you with some highlights:

-When the airline informed us at the gate in Newark that they lost Littleman's brand new blue stroller, Littleman cried as though he'd been stabbed in the heart.  I wanted to scream at the airline people in front of me, but decided I'd let Littleman's sobs tear at their hearts instead...I had been up and traveling since 3 am. (They fedex-ed the stroller to me in Albany the next day.)

-My first stop was to see SH and her brand new baby boy, CFH.  Both are beautiful and it breaks my heart that I cannot visit every day and watch this little wonder grow or pick up emergency diapers/ ice cream for mom.  SH's family treated me like their own...as they have for the last eight years.  I felt like royalty and it was a wonderful, if much too short, visit.  My heart soared, though, seeing SH so happy and her husband standing so supportively and tenderly by her side.  All is right in the world when good things happen to good people.

-I left SH to head over to my BF, Goddesslibrarian , and her family.  I cried the whole way.  I cried because it hurt so much to leave SH behind and because I knew my BF has been hurting over my departure...and facing all that was...well...it seemed a lot easier when I booked the tickets than when I was driving over the Hudson River to her house.

-As it turns out, seeing the BF and her family was wonderful.  The boys, after about a half hour of shyness, played like Littleman had never left.  It's clear those two boys have a special bond...and if we can visit every year or so, they will keep their special friendship.  It was blissful to sit on my BF's couch and blather on and on and on about every little detail in Littleman's exploits.  She is the only person I can comfortably do this to/with.  (Yeah, many of you are actually spared the many, many, many, minute details she must endure.)  It was hard for me to see how much her little Princess had grown...a living indication of how much I have missed.  What I did manage to do was enjoy every minute I had with them, and I am certain that Littleman did the same.  He was sad to leave Skywalker in Albany, but he seems to know that he will see him again one day and that is enough for him.  Such a clever little one...

-While in NY, I had brief visits with friends I miss deeply.  I could have spent an entire day catching up with MK and JB... Seeing their faces and sharing updates over Starcrunches was all I was going to get, though.  To say it was bittersweet is an understatement.

-My former TA and dear, dear friend, LF, threw a little party for me at her house so I could catch up with all my friends and colleagues from Ichabod.  It was so wonderful.  It is actually hard for me to conjure up the right words here.  I'll never know how I was lucky enough to ever have landed a job surrounded by such wonderful people.  It makes me wince to think I will not have the pleasure of seeing their faces every day or be able to help them find just the right story...and for seven years, LF listened to EVERY single worry, complaint, fear, joy, stomach cramp, and ridiculous idea I came up with.  There were so many mornings, in the back office, that we'd laugh until we cried over...well...who knows?  For some reason...it wasn't until it was time for me to leave her that I realized she'd become like a sister to me.  Thanks, LF, for the great party...and to PW for the super-thoughtful PlayDoh for Littleman, and to MW and ZF for playing with Littleman all afternoon so I could chat with grown ups, and to MW for the super awesome cupcakes that I am still eating with much pleasure - they are DELISH.  

-I'd like to sum up my trip to NY with this: I don't know what I ever did to deserve such love from so many people.  To all of you New Yorkers who read this blog and all those poor, lost souls who have not discovered the wonders of blogging and will have to be told second hand, I love you all with every fiber in my heart.  I am grateful to ever have known each and every one of you.  Where ever I end up in the world, you all will be with me (and more than welcome to visit and eat and be merry with us).

-Yesterday I drove down to NJ to be with my family.  I am so glad I had to come down on Saturday because it gave me nearly an entire extra day with my seventeen year old sister, LH (she leaves for track camp at 6 tomorrow morning).  We hardly ever get to spend time together, and today she spent it entirely with me and Littleman.  And this is perhaps, the best part of my trip, so far.  My little baby sister is growing up into such a beautiful young woman.  She was so great with Littleman and just fun to be at the beach with.  I was so happy that we got a chance to just talk.  I am so happy that she is so well-adjusted and, for 17, happy.  She gets excellent grades, is an avid and talented runner, has a really nice (and cute) boyfriend, and she seems to have a pretty decent relationship with her parents - which is more than I can say for most teenagers.  I feel my heart bursting for her. I am so impressed by how together she is...so much more so than I ever was at that age. She is destined for great things...she really is.  And I am grateful that she chose to spend day with Littleman and I.

-Littleman loved the beach, big surprise there.  I took him out past the breakers and he swam underwater in the Atlantic ocean.  I am pretty psyched about that.  We look forward to spending the rest of the week at the beach and in my mom's pool.  She arrived back from Norway just this afternoon and is sleeping on the couch now.

I guess it was a good thing that I decided to post in the middle of the trip...can you imagine how long it would have been if I'd saved it until I got back????  Well, the little sister who can now drive, is back with some ice cream.  Have to go!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend