There are some feelings that are just too deep to have words. Some emotions that flit by in such a woosh that you hardly have time to analyze them to see exactly what they are and where they came from.
I had some of those when my youngest daughters and I stepped out of the airplane in Atlanta and I saw a huge American flag painted over the escalator we were riding. After 4 years of being out of the country of my birth, I have at last set foot here again - if only for a short while.
David and I had planned to come back here 2 years ago, but circumstances prevented it. Now with our business operating at full steam, only one of us and 1/2 of the children were able to steal away for a short visit to Florida. Sadly, money and time prevent us from visiting other friends and family further west. But my dearest sister relocated to Florida last year, making a journey to see her plausible.
It has been a fabulous time - the girls are no longer toddlers, and she and I are slightly more wrinkled than before - but otherwise it feels like the years have melted away. Many many late nights talking (the first 3 days, no one could get a word in edgewise!) and fun times interacting with our neices have made this trip better than any tourist package out there! I have missed my sister more than I even knew.
To top it off she and I have rekindled our creative fire and have been painting, beading and scrapbooking to our hearts content. I honestly could not bring myself to scrap in South Africa - my sister and I had always had our afternoon scrap sessions with the babies nestled in their activity chairs or napping in the other room - and when I lost my connection with her, I lost my desire to do what we had shared together. Now I'm trying to make up for lost time!! :) Meanwhile our girls are finding their own creative flow - painting ceramics, pairs of blue jeans and even toenails and rediscovering the close friendship they shared 4 years ago.
I'm very grateful to my amazing husband, who has not only held our home together while I am gone, but has been working himself very hard at our business. My heart overflows with gratitude and thankfulness for the sacrifices he made so I could come and see my sister.
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