The end, part 6

 

This is the final and last part of our month-long road-trip through the US and I know you’re thinking, “Geesh, finally, took you long enough”. And yes, it took me almost longer to finish the road-trip saga than actually being on the road-trip with A. So yes, this is the final installment, the one with all the endings.

Both A and I have enjoyed the comfort of family and friends and new places and exciting foods over the last few weeks in the US. After all, there is nothing like Southern hospitality, endless driving and foods that make you have a heart attack before you turn 50 if you eat it daily. But it was time to go back to the places, that were home to us, the places where everything began i.e. Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The day we left Nashville, both A and I were super anxious and excited to be going back to Pennsylvania. There is not much to tell about this time. We were busy being home. Driving and being places that we have been so often before but places that never lost their magic. We spend quality time with A’s family and got beaten (by A’s 14 year old niece) playing Mario Kart and Dr. Mario. We had wonderful dinners together and laughed and cried and argued, just like normal families do. We might not get to see our families as much as we want to, but that doesn’t mean that we are any less of a family.

A and I got some wonderful Christmas presents, one of which is draped over me at all times:

But the greatest gift ever, that we made to ourselves and to our families this past Christmas was time.  Of course, we spend time with each other doing all the touristy things you can do:

But more importantly, we went to the movies with A’s niece, played Lego with A’s nephew and carried around the newest member of our family for hours. I would not let anyone else carry the little baby, after all, being an aunt, that’s what you get to do: carry a little one everywhere. She of course cared much more for drooling all over me than actually spending time with me, but hey, I take what I can get!

We also got time to spend with our dearest friends, the ones that are close even if you only get to see them every blue moon. The Mars-Bars Superheroes plus Reese’s cup and Ams! I still get a tingling feeling when I think of the wonderful time we got to spend together. And as always, it was much too short. I always wish for more time, after all, how could we not after having such great friends? My heart broke time and time again, because one always wants more and one always wants what one cannot have. But we take what we can get. Our last few days in the US we spend reminiscing about what life would be like if we would still live in the US. If we were much happier, if we were anywhere close to where we are now…

Life is funny. You know just as well as I do, that our lives would NOT be the same, if we would still be living the US. We might be able to spend more time with family and friends, but A and I would not be the same people we are today. Knowing that, we were able to face the hardest part of all: the goodbyes.

All good things have come to an end, whether or not you want to, whether or not you pretend it’s not true. We had a wonderful time in the US and of course ate way more than was healthy for us and bought way too much stuff, which resulted in me having to wear three sweaters on the plane just so we wouldn’t have to pay extra for our luggage. (Come on, what did you expect? We paid the minimum for a car rental and drove around a month long in a death trap, just to save some money… I can safely say, we learned our lesson!)

I guess, the only thing left to say is thank you all, for making our trip so wonderful and thank you for reminding us that there is definitely no place like home!