My Favourite Things #5

Many years ago, the day after Valentine`s Day, I called my mother to tell her some very good news.  The night before, my boyfriend had proposed.  I was going to be married!  I remember that I didn't sleep very much at all, after arriving home with a ring on my finger.  I could hardly wait until the morning hour which would make it legimately late enough to call home to tell my mom the happy news.  She lived in a time zone that was three hours ahead of where I was.  I think it was about 6 a.m. my time, when I phoned.

What made that conversation even more sweet, is that I had pre-arranged a surprise trip back to my home town. I was leaving that afternoon.   It was a break week from school - the college was going to be shut down anyway, and my brother had agreed to pick me up from the airport, keep me overnight at his apartment, and then take me to the bus the next day, where I would travel a few more hours to make it home in time for supper.  "Oh how I wish you were closer", my mom had said as we hung up.  In my head I replied "I will see you TomoRRow!!"   -(Insert happy dance)-

I was overflowing with excitment.  I kept looking at my ring, holding it up to various lights, to see how it shone.  The plane trip, my brother's car, the bus trip, and finally the local bus, gradually carried me home to see my mom and my dad, so I could share this happy occasion with them.

I still had my key to get into the house,so I let myself in.  I stamped my feet twice on the mat to shake off the snow.  I could have stamped once, but I knew that my dad always stamped his feet twice, and I wanted my mom to think it was he who was coming in the door. 

She was washing dishes and had her back to me, when I entered the kitchen.  She started to say something to someone she thought was my dad, turning at the same time to see his face.  But it was my face she saw.  Her jaw dropped.  Her face went white.  Very slowly, she said "M?ar?n..?i?`  I rushed to the sink to assure her that it was indeed myself, and not a ghost she was seeing.  After she got over the shock (which I am not sure she actually did), we shared a laugh about all the events which seemed so incongruous at the time, but she hadn`t paid a whole lot of attention, because she thought I was in another province.   Soon, my dad returned home from his day at work, and I surprised him as well.  (although he didn`t look like he was going to faint, as she did). 

In the end, I had a lovely week with them and then returned back to college to finish off my Music Therapy education before I got married that same summer. 

Well, as they say, what comes around, goes around.

Yesterday,


                            when

I returned home
                                             from doing errands,


              my number one son


opened the door and said `Merry Christmas`.


 He had made a five-day trip to come home and surprise me for Christmas.











I am still not over the shock -


it is so wonderful...


and so overwhelming.....




I can`t quite believe that, on the very day I was missing him so much and wishing that somehow he could just come through the door and be home for Christmas, that he did, and he is!!!!

So, this Christmas, I will once again have my family around me, as I celebrate. It is definitely one of my favourite things!  Anyone have some smelling salts...