I really hate good-byes

One of the best parts of our vacation week was having my sister Elaine and her boyfriend Kelly with us. Elaine moved across the country in November and we had not seen her since. Our reunion was wonderful and throughout the week I tried really hard not to think about the good-bye that was ahead of us.

We spent the last day together as a family, walking State Street, eating appetizers and drinking good beer. Thanks to a slight mishap on State Street (Cari and Luis are great parents! High five) there was a mad rush to get Elaine and Kelly to the airport on time. It was a whirlwind of parking, running, checking in and very rushed blurry good-bye. As they were running toward thier gate I grabbed my sister and hugged her super tight and told her "I love you".

This picture captures exactly how the good-bye went. It was good because if there had been more time, there would have been more tears.

This time it was harder to say good-bye to my little sister. The last time she left I had no idea what it would be like to miss her. Now I know that missing her hurts and having her gone leaves an empty hole in everything we do as a family. Her absence is always noticed.

And now that we have officially initiated Kelly into the family, we will miss him so much more. We went from not seeing them, to having them with us 24 hours a day for a whole week, and then just like that they were gone again. A big roller coaster of emotion. 

Elaine has always been a big part of The Phi, The Chone, Lili and Felix's lives. And I am so sad that Louella will not know Tia Uh-laine like the other kids do. 

We all gathered in the little outdoor area to watch her plane take off. Already feeling Elaine and Kelly's absence and already missing them.

And then they were off. My little sister on this big airplane so very high in the sky. Leaving for the other side of the country taking with her a little piece of all of us with her.