Holiday rundown
So, this past Tuesday marked my return to the Sunshine State. I will admit that I missed Florida - a lot - and my strange little menagerie even more, but then I am met with the fact I left behind my entire family that I haven't seen in varying amounts of time. It'd been five years since I visited with my Leigh, who will make an attempt on my life if I call her "aunt" or refer to her as such, three years since I have seen my parents, little sister, and my grandparents, and to top all of that, somewhere in the neighborhood of thirteen or so years since I had seen my cousins and their families.
It's funny to see how much and how little people change even when time inevitably marches forth. Amy is married and has a son. Dyuane, the husband, seems to be a quiet fellow, but he is notably good with his son and good natured. Sam couldn't be cuter if he tried, and he was putty in my hands - I sang him to sleep whilst we were after-Christmas shopping. Amy is well, perhaps a loon with family life, but I figure that is probably par for the course. She's fun. Lots of fun. If I can separate her from her brood for a little "drinking around the world", I have a feeling she could probably get as mischevious as me.
Nevermind Amy is a little miffed with me for getting Sam a plush dolphin to cuddle. Some kids have blankets, Sam has a dolphin. And likes show tunes. (Sorry, Ame.)
Erin was also a lot of fun...warped, too. We had an interesting discussion about man parts and finding a man that is willing to lend said parts, but this isn't mentioned for solicitation purposes. I suppose it lends truth to the fact that women can be worse than men in the way we view the opposite sex. Hell, nearly every guy I know says they don't want daughters because they know what they think about women, and they don't want someone thinking that about their child. Well....sorry to shatter the illusion, guys. Women are just as bad. Probably worse.
And now, thanks to me, my cousins can knit. I arbitrarily decided to learn and have now lent my knowledge to them.
And Erin also has a lovebird that is the same breed as my So-so. Copycat! Ah, well. I can't blame her. So-so is great, so I am sure that Puffin with get to be that way once trained.
A few days after I landed and spent time with my long lost cousins, I was carted off to the grandparents. Grandmama and Grandaddy were fine, bickering as usual. Leigh was also awesome, and seemed to take a shine to the scarf that I was knitting at the time for my mother (long story behind the scarf process) - so now she has her own in the works, should be ready to mail out by Monday.
Yes, I have no life.
And finally, my parents arrived with my little sister in tow. Lara is unbelievably gorgeous and has no clue about it. Good thing, too, I don't know what my father would or will do when the realization is made. Mum didn't fight with me for a change, probably in part to the fact that she got the gift she wanted (the scarf).
And there was my Dah. I missed my father so much. I know that I am like him in more ways than Mum, and I am ever the daddy's little girl. What sucked more than anything else was that they all arrived late in the evening of Christmas Day, and I had to fly out at 8:30 on the 27th, so I didn't get to spend much time with Dah.
I'll be the first to admit that I have a rather tough exterior, but true to the form of those who seemingly have tough exteriors, I happen to be remarkably sensitive. I just don't show it, at least not about 98% of the time, but when Dah, Mum, and Lara dropped me off at the airport on Tuesday, I was having a really tough time, much more difficult than I expected. And when my father helped me out of the car to give me a good-bye hug, I saw even he was having a hard time, which promptly caused me to completely lose my composure. I haven't cried like that in years, and it still smarts even today.
I got home light another $51 thanks to the Super Shuttle, but that is better than parking my car or taking a cab. When I got into the house, I don't think that So-so could have gotten out of his cage and into my arms fast enough. He fell off of his perches, he was in such a hurry. I got him, and once he was on my shoulder, I went into Kai's room, and she came zooming out of her log and started to claw at the side of her cage to have me pick her up. I'll admit there's some sibling rivalry between the bird and the gecko, but at this moment, they didn't care. So-so chatted to me quietly telling me about how much he missed me (I presume), and Kai dozed in my lap. Very cute.
And now, I am home again. Well, sort of. Presently I am at work, but that isn't really of consequence. It's an empty house, void of anyone but my animals at the moment whilst Jay is out visiting his family in Washington.
As I said, it is good to be home, I love Florida, but it isn't as fulfilling as I remembered. I suppose that I was operating under the "out of sight, out of mind" frame, which kept me detatched, feeling no guilt, and in many ways, sane. I have always been remarkably independent, even as a child, but when you are removed and on your own and so far away for so long, you tend to forget who you are, and family is there to remind you of such things. I'll be damned if I don't miss them.
It still stings.
It's funny to see how much and how little people change even when time inevitably marches forth. Amy is married and has a son. Dyuane, the husband, seems to be a quiet fellow, but he is notably good with his son and good natured. Sam couldn't be cuter if he tried, and he was putty in my hands - I sang him to sleep whilst we were after-Christmas shopping. Amy is well, perhaps a loon with family life, but I figure that is probably par for the course. She's fun. Lots of fun. If I can separate her from her brood for a little "drinking around the world", I have a feeling she could probably get as mischevious as me.
Nevermind Amy is a little miffed with me for getting Sam a plush dolphin to cuddle. Some kids have blankets, Sam has a dolphin. And likes show tunes. (Sorry, Ame.)
Erin was also a lot of fun...warped, too. We had an interesting discussion about man parts and finding a man that is willing to lend said parts, but this isn't mentioned for solicitation purposes. I suppose it lends truth to the fact that women can be worse than men in the way we view the opposite sex. Hell, nearly every guy I know says they don't want daughters because they know what they think about women, and they don't want someone thinking that about their child. Well....sorry to shatter the illusion, guys. Women are just as bad. Probably worse.
And now, thanks to me, my cousins can knit. I arbitrarily decided to learn and have now lent my knowledge to them.
And Erin also has a lovebird that is the same breed as my So-so. Copycat! Ah, well. I can't blame her. So-so is great, so I am sure that Puffin with get to be that way once trained.
A few days after I landed and spent time with my long lost cousins, I was carted off to the grandparents. Grandmama and Grandaddy were fine, bickering as usual. Leigh was also awesome, and seemed to take a shine to the scarf that I was knitting at the time for my mother (long story behind the scarf process) - so now she has her own in the works, should be ready to mail out by Monday.
Yes, I have no life.
And finally, my parents arrived with my little sister in tow. Lara is unbelievably gorgeous and has no clue about it. Good thing, too, I don't know what my father would or will do when the realization is made. Mum didn't fight with me for a change, probably in part to the fact that she got the gift she wanted (the scarf).
And there was my Dah. I missed my father so much. I know that I am like him in more ways than Mum, and I am ever the daddy's little girl. What sucked more than anything else was that they all arrived late in the evening of Christmas Day, and I had to fly out at 8:30 on the 27th, so I didn't get to spend much time with Dah.
I'll be the first to admit that I have a rather tough exterior, but true to the form of those who seemingly have tough exteriors, I happen to be remarkably sensitive. I just don't show it, at least not about 98% of the time, but when Dah, Mum, and Lara dropped me off at the airport on Tuesday, I was having a really tough time, much more difficult than I expected. And when my father helped me out of the car to give me a good-bye hug, I saw even he was having a hard time, which promptly caused me to completely lose my composure. I haven't cried like that in years, and it still smarts even today.
I got home light another $51 thanks to the Super Shuttle, but that is better than parking my car or taking a cab. When I got into the house, I don't think that So-so could have gotten out of his cage and into my arms fast enough. He fell off of his perches, he was in such a hurry. I got him, and once he was on my shoulder, I went into Kai's room, and she came zooming out of her log and started to claw at the side of her cage to have me pick her up. I'll admit there's some sibling rivalry between the bird and the gecko, but at this moment, they didn't care. So-so chatted to me quietly telling me about how much he missed me (I presume), and Kai dozed in my lap. Very cute.
And now, I am home again. Well, sort of. Presently I am at work, but that isn't really of consequence. It's an empty house, void of anyone but my animals at the moment whilst Jay is out visiting his family in Washington.
As I said, it is good to be home, I love Florida, but it isn't as fulfilling as I remembered. I suppose that I was operating under the "out of sight, out of mind" frame, which kept me detatched, feeling no guilt, and in many ways, sane. I have always been remarkably independent, even as a child, but when you are removed and on your own and so far away for so long, you tend to forget who you are, and family is there to remind you of such things. I'll be damned if I don't miss them.
It still stings.