Loving the Feel of This House

From the time I was eight years old I would spend a week or two each summer with my big sister. Sixteen years younger, I was always so excited to pack my bags for vacations of regular adventures. During those few weeks we would do a variety of things and travel to an array of different places. One day we might simply see a movie and visit a toy store; another day we might go to an amusement park. Other days, we would stay close to home and make a picnic lunch to enjoy on the deck or at a local beach.

So when our family's vacation plans fell through this past weekend, we decided we would still travel to our first original destination, my sister's house. We arrived mid-afternoon and upon entering her house my daughter whispered to me, "I love the smell and the feel of this house. I always have". I smiled, knowing exactly what she meant. We settled in for the evening knowing that a heavy rain storm was on its way. My sister prepared us dinner and we caught up, shared photos, and got in the first laughs of our time together.

Today we took a trip to a nearby town to check out some bargains. On our way back we decided to visit a carhop that over 30 years ago my sister and I had frequented. We launched into the tale of how the old A&W root beer car hop used to deliver to my car window the best root beer floats, ice cream floats so big that I could barely lift the heavy glass mugs unless I got on my knees. Today with my husband and my daughter in the front seat, my sister and I took the back seat, the perfect location to share a root beer float for old times' sake. Although it was delivered in a regular paper Pepsi cup, the memories of being back at the carhop returned and before long, my sister and I were laughing, just as always.

The afternoon brought us to another adventure, taking my children to a local gym with a rock climbing wall. Harnessed in, we watched my son and daughter take their turns scaling the wall and again I laughed listening to my sister encourage each child as she sat on the floor to take pictures of their feat. Returning home we settled in for an easy evening and a yummy dinner.

Like my daughter I'd return to my sister's home tonight thinking, "I love the smell and the feel of this place. I always have". But we all know it's not merely the house that gives us this feeling. The adventures we find ourselves on are fun but having a big sister who knows how to make right a family's otherwise "failed" set of vacation plans is the adventure that lasts a lifetime.