Change; Not a Big Fan of Texas

“Going to Texas? Wow, that’s a little scary.” I thought to myself as I went into super-ultra-Flash like-speed on packing (Flash, as in the superhero… just to be clear). Procrastination was always a problem with me, which was probably why I was plowing through a bunch of clothes trying to find things to pack. I had put cleaning my room off until the last minute, and then at the last minute, I forgot. Needless to say, my room had not been cleaned and it was torturous!

        “You have to clean your room before you leave!” Lisa shouted to me from the bathroom with a mouthful of toothpaste. She could be such a bitch sometimes. She knew what time my nana was picking me up to take me to Wyandotte, yet she chose 10 minutes before my nana arrived before she thought to mention that my room had to be clean before I left for the summer!

“Uhm, OK!” I managed with compliance in my voice.

She did things like this all the time, just to spite me, so I couldn’t be surprised. I started shoving everything in random places. I knew that my nana would not be happy in the least bit, and she was already not a big fan of Lisa.

“Ok Ariana, you’ve got this. You have what? Let’s say approximately 12 minutes until Nana Amy gets here, you can do it.” I spoke out-loud, as if to prep myself for what was ahead.  I grabbed my closet door and yanked it back to expose more space. I then proceeded to take all of my clothes and lunge them into my closet.  I heard the dogs bark as my nana pulled into my drive-way. I sprinted outside, pushing through Opal and Indiana who were still barking, and broke through the house, forgetting about my shoes. My nana was walking to me to get my bags.

“Where are your bags?” My nana questioned as she realized I did not look ready to go.

“I’m almost done packing, but Lisa said I have to clean my room before I leave. She told me like, three minutes ago.” I explained, preparing myself for my nana’s response.

“Are you serious?” My nana said, reacting calmer than I was hoping. I thought maybe she’d get so mad she would tell Lisa to “F-Off!” and I wouldn’t have to finish my room.

When my nana and I finished packing and cleaning my room, I hollered to Lisa to let her know I was leaving and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. My nana left with some snide remark towards Lisa and we were out of there. The car ride to Wyandotte was pretty long and boring, and when we got there I passed out. I remember mumbling “Hi.” To Pa and Grandma Karen then heading to my favorite guest-bedroom for sleep, but from there to the airport, my memory goes fuzzy.

“Give me a hug!” Pa said, reaching out for me.
        “No way!” I said, pushing him away. He could be so embarrassing. I didn’t want a hug because he always kissed my cheek and his beard always pricked my face, I hated that feeling.
        “You should hug him before you leave!” One of the flight attendants cheered.

People were really starting to get annoying, so I sucked it up and hugged him, quickly. I made sure to dodge his beard. The flight and I began walking to my seat.
        “So, you really didn’t hug him?” She said, implying that I should have.

“Uhm… no?” I questioned with a hint of snide sarcasm. She must not have been looking when we hugged, but I really didn’t want to have a conversation about it.

10 months later I returned to the very same airport, my dad and uncle Travis waiting for me at the arrival gate. I was happy to see them, my dad especially.
        “Hey there, kiddo!” My dad said as he smiled to me.

“Hi, dad!” I said as I stood on my tip-toes to hug him. “Hi Uncle Travis!” I said as I moved my hug to my also-much-taller-than-me uncle.
        “Hey kid! Welcome back!” My uncle responded.
        “I didn’t tell you that you could get boobs while you were gone!” My dad said, teasing me.

“Yeah, okay…let me go return them…” I said, rolling my eyes as I repressed a laugh, I couldn’t let him know that I thought he was funny.
        The car ride back to Pa’s was interesting. Most of the time I was just listening to my dad and uncle Travis talk about my uncle’s new car and whether or not OnStar was worth the money. I was super excited to get back to Pa’s house, my sister was there and she had no idea I was back from Texas, yet! We parked and my sister came dancing out of the house, ready to welcome my dad and unlce travis back home. Branwyn came around the back as I was opening the trunk to get my bags. Her eyes got huge, she did a double take and she ran into my arms.

“Oh my God, Ariana! You’re here!” She shouted, squeezing my harder every time her voice got higher.

“Oh, hey! Miss me?” I said, obviously full of myself.

It was in this moment that I finally breathed for the first time in a while. It had probably been about 8 months since the last time I had took a real breathe, the first time I was able to relax. Being back home, even if I wasn’t really at my house yet, that was all I needed to make things better.  My trip was awful, but I was home now with my sister in my arms, and nothing else mattered. Everything was different, everything. It was pretty great.