Thanksgiving trip part2

The Friends

Getting in the car for a long drive to see friends make the trip seem so much shorter and absolutely worth the night of sitting and having a seat belt wrapped around you poking your hip bone. It’s tradition that when we get in the car and Kid4 knows it’s going to be an all night-er she always says “Do we get to see Tia (that’s what she calls Bat girl)?” When I say “yes” she is silent and that means she is fine with the long drive, the uncomfortable car seat, it’s all worth it if Tia’s at the end of it. She knows the good things in life are worth waiting for!

One of my favorite things about travelling happens before we ever leave. The big kids are on their phones making plans with their “Texas friends”, Kid2 is giggling and planning as many sleep over’s as possible in the short time we will be there. She is usually gone every night at this friends or that friends laughing and telling stories all night- oh’ the memories she is creating! (this is especially special because we don’t do spend the nights here. In Texas we have known those people since they were little and we know we can trust them). Kid1 is on the phone planning what movies to go too, what to bring, how far they ride their skateboards in town, and for a 16 year old boy to say he is excited is fantastic! I Love it!

The best thing of course is the meeting between my kid3 and her kid, Dusty. Dusty and my kid3 are best friends, they have been together since they were 2 and 3, and they truly don’t remember time without the other. I love how they run into each other’s arms and knock each other down. They shout and pal around; they sleep on the living room floor, play games until their fingers are stiff and stay up all hours. They are like long lost brothers aching to see the other as much as possible! When we pull into Bat Girls driveway at the end of a long night, the sun has risen, we are weary and here he comes running towards us with enough gusto to knock the wind out of a cloud- I love it- I love him! We share our kids; you probably already know that by now!

As soon as we arrive, the kids start dispersing, calling friends to let them know they are there, making meeting plans, deciding who is going where and when. I love it, I’m tired but I love watching them reunite with their friends. Kid2 has girl friends and I love watching them see each other for the first time in months. She is all smiles as we get closer and then she runs to their door and the door is thrown open to giant waiting girl arms. There are three of Kid2’s friends that I adore and as you know and probably hate I don’t use names on my blog so here I go trying to tell their stories without using their names.

The first friend I always think of when we head to Texas is H. She is so dear to my heart. She and Kid2 have been friends since third grade and they love each other dearly. She is pure hearted, sweet as sugar and I love her dearly. They have spent too many hours to count together, telling stories, giggling like girls do and growing up together. The second friend I think of is T. She and Kid2 became really close friends as we were moving and we spent the summer enjoying every moment we could with sweet T. She is funny, confident and full of life. The third friend I think of is E. Her and Kid2 had the funniest meeting in third grade and she has been near to my heart ever since. When we moved to Texas E was in a bully phase, although she is not a good bully because she is too sweet. One day Kid2 called me crying and saying “I’m going to hit her, I really am”! I said “sit right there and I will come and get you, don’t touch her!” Come to find out E had sat on my kid2’s head and kid2 had finally had enough. We all met and poor E was so embarrassed, my heart went out to her because she truly felt bad. Since we have been travelling back to Texas kid2 and E have developed a wonderful friendship that is truly a delight to witness. They enjoy each other and have such fun together and their story is too funny not to tell. Sometimes the friendships that develop come from someone bullying the other. Ask my friend Melissa, that’s how we became good friends- I may have bullied her a little- I couldn’t say though! I think E and Kid2 will have a special kind of forever friendship.

Is there any better feeling than watching two friends run into each other’s arms holding each other tight trying to make up for all the hugs they missed out on? Is there anything better than the cackling of two girls who have too many things to catch up to sleep a wink? Is there anything better than seeing two boys running, laughing and knocking each other down like pups? There can’t be… there just can’t be- I love friends reuniting.