a very clanton weekend

CHEESE!

So last Friday, I got up at the butt crack of dawn to go to Sea Tac Airport to get on a plane to fly down to California to surprise Hailey and Alyssa. I'd been secretly plotting this adventure for about 3 weeks previous with their mom, though we didn't actually know till that morning if I was actually coming because I may have not got on the flight. But I did. And I went. And it was amazing.

So for the three days before, I hadn't been sleeping, so Friday morning I was exhausted. I didn't fall asleep when I was on the plane, so I was a total basket case the whole day. My Grami picked me up from the airport and took me to have coffee for about an hour and get something to eat. Not only was I exhausted, but I was starving, and really excited. So three perfect ingredients for a psychotic Maddie.

Then Hailey and Alyssa's mom, Brandi, came to the Starbucks to have coffee with us for a while, and then plan out how we were going to surprise the girls. I was so excited to see Brandi that I kind of attacked her when I saw her. As she went up to get her drink, and I kept talking to my Grami, out of the corner of my eye I could see her continuing to glance over at us, and I knew she was excited to see me too.

We then planned on my hiding in the bathroom and then coming out to surprise the girls at the Starbucks. I called my mom when I went into the bathroom so she could hear the girls' reaction when they saw me. And then, I got the text from Brandi. It was time to come out. I was so nervous and excited and exhausted, I couldn't stop shaking. I was so excited to see the girls. My little sisters. My best friends..

So I walked out. I knew they wouldn't see me at first because they wouldn't expect me to be there, but I walked over to the bar, and just in a place where Alyssa could see me. And she did. Her eyes kind of glanced over me at first. Then she looked... They widened... A smile grew across her face, and she ran at me. Hailey hadn't seen me at first and didn't know who Alyssa was hugging. I then pulled my head out from the hug, and Hailey just freaked out and came to attack me as well.

It was like everything in the world was right for those few moments. Their happiness. My presence. Their presence. Our hugs. The love I knew we had for each other...

And for those very brief moments when they were totally shocked that I was actually standing in front of them, I never wanted to leave. I wanted to stay there forever, hugging these girls I'd grown to have so much love and care for...

Everything that followed that weekend was amazing. Everything we did was so joyous. When I woke up on Saturday morning, we lied there on the couch hugging each other for what seemed like forever. We still couldn't believe we were together. We didn't want to do anything but be with each other.

And I would never forget another very important part of the weekend. Their mom Brandi. Probably my greatest friend, and right up there with my greatest joy in seeing that weekend. We had coffee on Saturday, and then walked around and sat at the park for a while. We both expressed how we felt like being there together was like a dream. It was just so amazing.

That night, all of us went ice skating. Brandi, Alyssa, Hailey, their brother Dylan, their dad Phil, and I. Though actually, Phil and Alyssa didn't ice skate, but watched. It was so much fun, because Brandi was kind of slow, so I got to just glide alongside her, and maybe catch her when she fell (which she did maybe 6 times), and then go really fast with Hailey and have fun cruising with her and dancing to the music.

That night I got to play a game with Hailey where we pretended Brandi was a crazy child Swedish cannibal. That crazy make believe game was probably the most fun we had the whole weekend.

After which we all watched movies till about 1:30 in the morning, and I got to just lay my head on Brandi's shoulder through the movies, which was probably my favorite part of the whole weekend. Just being with her.

That next day, Brandi and Alyssa took me to my first house. It was the greatest thing ever. I got a little emotional. It reminded me of when everything was perfect in my life. Before there was ever even a thought of something being wrong. When my family had everything together. But it was still odd. Bringing the new into the old. My beautiful relationships with these beautiful girls into the environment of my growing up.

We walked down the street I learned how to ride a bike on. Past the houses where I used to play. The driveway where we gave my dog bathes. The front porch where we played in our kitty pool, made forts out of boxes, played telephone with the neighbors across the street, and ran out to meet my dad when he came home from work in his huge truck.

But I was happy it was all in the past. And I was able to drive away with Brandi and Alyssa. What was once a happy little family and home, is now a broken up group of people. Now I survive with the relation of my little sister and mommy. And with communication with my best friends and people who make me happy, Brandi, Alyssa, and Hailey.

Alyssa and Brandi and I went to the the park and sat down for a bit and hung out and talked. At the last little bit I went over and lied down in Brandi's lap. I was just so happy. So happy that I had my life in Washington. That I was already being blessed with fantastic opportunities up there. But also that I could come back to see these people who are indescribable. The people who, outside of my family, are the nearest, dearest, and most important people to my heart.

And now that I'm back home in Washington, I don't miss them. Well, at least not any more that I thought I would. I will always miss them. But I'm happy that I'm here, not down there. Because up here is where my life will really begin. Where every opportunity opens itself up for me.

But all in all, it was the greatest weekend ever. I'm so happy I got such priceless memories with that family. I can't wait to do it again. :)