What a Jaunt Have I Had

I've got a secret. And burdened by both the order to keep this esoteric information to myself and the desire to tell every passer-by, I have decided to confide in the world's greatest secret-keeper: the World Wide Web.

For weeks now, my cousins have been planning a surprise party for my Grandma's 80th birthday. This woman, my mom's mom, is the bedrock of a very tightly knit family. When my Grandpa died over 20 years ago, she turned her full focus on her grandchildren. I am the oldest of 13. My fondest memories of my childhood are set at Gram's cottage on Big Whitefish Lake. We slept 4 or 5 to a room in that 3-room cottage; Gram slept between two children, both of whom always wanted to hold her hand as they fell asleep while listening to the children's series "Adventures in Odyssey." All summer long, she cooked for us and planned activities. She was tireless and epitomized patience and love. The stories are endless and exceedingly precious to me, though I won't attempt to take space relaying them to you. Suffice it to say that those times helped shaped my identity.

This information, then, is enough to illustrate my desperation at knowing I would miss out on another family activity, especially this one. It is also why at some point I stopped reading the emails my cousins sent me.

Last Thursday, though, I decided it was time to get through the emails and get over my disappointment. The first I opened was from Amber, saying that her dad, my Uncle Jim, wanted to use his airline miles to fly me home for the weekend. I was in shock. Moving slowly so as not to explode with this information, I phoned the airline company. After about half an hour on the phone, they found me a ticket. Leaving on Thursday afternoon and returning on Monday, I make it home with just enough time to surprise my grandmother.

And so you can understand that this excitement pulses through me. In one week, I leave for home. In 11 days, I'll be back. And though I know that I will be overcome with exhaustion and a general confusion of what time zone I am in, the excitement is palpable. Though I won't be able to spend nearly enough time with my family and none with my friends, I'm going home! I'm going home! I'm going home!

After nearly two years, I'm going home. But, wink, wink, don't tell...