I took a little trip...

I find it delightful how I lived 27 years without having my half-sister in my life, but after meeting her and staying with her for 48 hours, I can't imagine ever being apart again.

Something changed in me as the years went by. I always knew about my sister; we had even talked through email and on the phone. We hadn't ever met but always planned to. One day, I couldn't wait any longer. I had to get to know her, or find out that we wouldn't ever be friends.

After picking a weekend and coordinating the flight time, I packed my bags and headed to the coast. I had butterflies for weeks, but now, I had hawks flying around in there. I gingerly bounced out of the terminal to find her and her 2 children waiting for me at the end of the sidewalk.  !!!!! What an amazing feeling. It's like the final bottle was slipped into the wine rack. Complete!

We naturally took to each other. Riding through town, chit-chatting, laughing, agreeing, "I-know"-ing,

 uh-huhing...

I met my niece and nephew also. They were wonderful, even if they are 13 and 16, respectively. My neice is interested in photography, so I let her use my camera to take some pictures. She really enjoyed roaming around her yard with me as I looked for things to snap photos of. I hope I inspired her somehow, even if I'm not actually a photographer myself. Here is a photo that she took for me. I love that she wanted to do what I was doing.

My nephew really liked the orginal NES, so we had a few rounds of Duck Hunt one evening. We also jammed out to Wii Music. He is very talented and genuinely interested in the arts. He was fun to talk to, and gets excited about his hobbies. That's not common anymore with 16 yr old boys. Good for him!

~As a half-aunt, I get to be all the fun of a regular aunt, but with half the calories~

We went to the beach, I got a lot of good pictures in the rain, drank margaritas and stayed up too late. It was an amazing weekend. One I will never forget, and one that will never be duplicated. Thank you sister for wanting to meet me. Thank you niece and nephew for wanting to spend time with me. Thank you Continental Airlines for getting me there, and the beer that you served me on the way.

I really did experience life this weekend.