My sister just went home to Florida. She finished college last week, and Michael and I bought plane tickets for her to celebrate.  Thus it has been a busy five days.  (A partial list of the visit’s delicious foodstuffs: St. Clair Broiler, Italian Pie Shoppe, Grand Olde Creamery, Brasa, Psycho Suzy’s, Coffee Bene, Manny’s Tortas, Izzy’s, The Blue Door Pub – if nothing else, she’ll be thinking of the Twin Cities as a place where she’s well fed.)

We took her to the Mall of America (and a cheese shop) as soon as she got here.  Next day, walked up and down Grand Avenue and looked at all the shops.  Thursday she helped me pick out scrubs for my new job, and we had dinner and drinks with my friends  (followed by more drinks at home, and some harassment of my neighbors, but it was for a good cause).  Yesterday I got an Hourcar and drove her through downtown Saint Paul and Minneapolis, wandered around Midtown Global Market, and shopped for yarn at StevenBe.  Then we all drove out to Saint Louis Park and watched The Avengers at the fancy Icon Theater.  This morning, she and Michael walked up and down Summit to look at the pretty houses, before we swung by Trader Joe’s, drove down to Apple Valley to show her where I’ll be working (starting next week!), and then gave up stalling and took her to the airport.

We spent the last five days trying to show her the best of the cities, but mostly I was just happy to be in her general vicinity.  Someday I hope that we live close enough that we can just watch some tv together, have a coffee and knit for awhile, or lay around and be silly for a few hours without feeling like every moment has to count.  Those quiet, natural moments are what really makes a relationship, and they’re hard to catch hold of when time is so short.

We cried at the airport, she got her standard “random” bag search (possibly because she looks like a person who would have nice underpants), and then Michael took me to the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge to cheer me up.

From the observation deck, you can see forest, prairie, and wetlands all at once.  It’s beautiful (and smells amazing).  I was mostly okay again by the time we left, bar a few confrontations with songs on the radio.  Stupid leaky eyeballs.

I start my perfect job on Monday.  We’re getting a new car in a few days. We move into our upgrade apartment in a couple of weeks.  And I’m unendingly grateful that Michael is here with me.  But just for tonight, I’m going to let myself be sad about the distance between me and my sister.  My life won’t be 100% right as long as we’re apart.

Someday.