Home Sweet Home

Well the time had finally arrived. It was time for my first trip back to the United States since I had left 6 months before. I was a little nervous because most people say that your first return trip is your hardest: meaning that it is harder to get back on that plane back to Spain. I had little time to really anticipate the trip because I had so much work to do before hand. I was going to be taking an entire week off of work. So I had to prepare all my classes for my substitutes. But of course I couldn’t plan the next week until I had that previous week prepared. Therefore, in a matter of 3 days, I had to plan 12 days of class. That whole week, I spent every minute possible making photo copies, looking for resources and meeting with my substitutes to discuss my classes. Needless to say, I was tired. I was also pretty emotionally stressed too that month with financial and personal issue so I desperately needed this vacation.

I left mid-morning on a Tuesday which put me into O’Hare about 7pm. The flight was pretty standard. I had a layover in Copenhagen, Denmark for an hour and then a 9 hour flight to Chicago. I would definitely recommend Scandinavian Airlines, if you have the opportunity! I was greeted with signs and flowers by my mother and my siblings: Derek, Brock and Kylie. It was just the homecoming I needed. That night, I ate dinner at my Mom’s and then met up with some friends for a few drinks. I started my errands straight away the next day, picking up things to bring back to Spain. I visited some of my old hangouts and spent every second visiting the people I had missed the most. Thursday night, Carrie and I were up to our old shenanigans and went to Bourbon Street for Ladies Night. It was like I never left. Plus, it was Halloween that weekend so I even got to dress up! As you can see from the picture, I went as Limp Bizkit (though no one knew until I did the 'Rollin' dance) Some of my boys met up with us along with my other bestest Leslie. It was an amazing night.

Friday, I did more running around and then went downtown for Colleen and John’s rehearsal dinner. Saturday was their wedding, so it was a hectic day of hair, makeup, fake nails and last minute touches. My best friend Ray aka my wedding date drove down with my dad and brothers to meet us at the Church. It was a drama filled day but everything turned out perfect. Colleen made an absolutely gorgeous bride. The reception was one that will go down in infamy within my family. Words cannot describe it… so enjoy the pictures! We ate, drank and danced till the wee hours of the morning. Being Halloween, the theme of the wedding was Vintage Masquerade. Unforgettable.

The next night, I met up with my dad and other siblings, Liam and Windsor. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to spend nearly as much time as I wanted before they had to go back to their moms. That was probably the most disappointing part of the trip. These kids are growing up so fast and I want to make sure they know how important they are to me, all my siblings. It’s probably the hardest part of being so far away with such a large age difference between us. I have to take advantage and treasure every moment I have with them.

Well Monday came ever so quickly and it was time to head back home to Spain. I spent the morning packing and running last minute errands before my mom and grandmother took me back to the airport. The flight home felt a lot longer this time. I enjoyed every second of being back in Chicago but I was kind of glad to be going back. It wasn’t as hard as I expected it to say goodbye again. This trip was what I needed to reassure myself that I made the right decision to move to Spain and embark on this crazy adventure. As soon as I got back in Madrid, I had to throw myself back into my classes which was good because it didn’t allow me time to wallow. So this blog is dedicated to John and Colleen Whitehead that gave me the perfect excuse to come back for what was an amazing first homecoming! Congratulations!