I’m running on fumes.  Rather, 7 cups of coffee and two handfuls of goldfish, but you get the idea.  However even after logging 9 hours in a car and 6.5 in a plane in the past 48 hours I am wired.  Why? Because I just surprised my oldest sister in Los Angeles!!!!!! How did I end up here?  Let me rewind…

So Tara, Sister One (my consistent guest blogger- gold star!), has this bad habit of running off to warm climates when the thought of a New England winter enters her mind.  That’s all well and good- I support my sisters in all their endeavors and blah blah blah- but fact is, she ends up missing all of us a lot.  Call it lack of entertainment, withdrawal from my mom’s famous cream cheese macaroni dish or, dare I say it, love… she runs away and then gets very sad to be removed from the rest of us.  Oh yeah, and then there’s the fact that we miss her too. All in all, it leads to many sad phone calls…

Two months ago, Sister One’s boyfriend propositioned me.  Ok get your head out of the gutter.  Not like that.  He’d fly me to LA to surprise Tara if I would be up for coming and showing her some love.  Even with my aversion to hugs and all acts infringing on my personal space, I’m not an idiot.  Free trip to LA? To see my big sister?!  Count me in!

It’s been hard keeping the secret from her.  Yesterday I nearly cracked.  When Tara called us as Sister Two’s house (my favorite suburban couple hosted their first Thanksgiving yesterday.  Say it with me now!: awwwwwwww) she sounded so, so sad.  And it hurt me. I don’t like my family members hurting, especially not if I can do something about it.  So I decided that I could either blow the secret I had kept for 2 months or I could pass the phone as quickly as possible to the next family member.  3…2…1…. “well, I miss you!  Here’s Kayla!”   I passed the phone… and tried all I could to get my sister’s sad voice out of my mind.

When my alarm went off at 4:30am I rolled my stiff body (ever driven 4 hours stuffed into the back of a Honda coupe?  No?  Well, I don’t recommend it) out of bed and psyched myself up for flying. I felt like night of the living dead as I stumbled through security, straight to the Starbucks kiosk and then to the gate and then decided I must be experiencing the afterlife during the 6.5 hour flight during which the pilot kept apologizing for not being able to find “pockets of smooth air.” However, I snapped awake when I stood on the curb outside the terminal and watched my sister experience heart failure when her boyfriend pulled up to the curb and Tara registered that I was not, in fact, her boyfriend’s friend Josh, and was in fact, Podge, live and in the flesh.  There were many tears.  And hugs.  I kept my end of the proposition.  And hugged back (with both arms). 

It’s my first official visit to the west coast and while most of the weekend will be devoted to sister bonding, I’ll certainly keep my eyes open.  Not just for celebrities… but for potential Ashleys.  Who knows, maybe my cousin has a bad habit of running off to warm climates at the thought of a New England winter…

With love (and YAY- T-T and Podge weekend!!!! excitement),

Audra

 


Comments

Connie Scanlon
11/27/2009 14:35

Hi Audra,
So much fun to read about your visit to Tara. Hope you are having a wonderful time. Love to Sister #1 and everyone in the family.
xoxo,
Connie

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