No Ordinary Weekend
After a rough couple of weeks I was looking forward to this weekend. My Friday was free of lectures and so I had scheduled a driving lesson with my instructor and I planned to spend the rest of the day learning for my Psychology test that night. I was looking forward to relaxing and watching a couple of movies, as well as getting some serious learning done for the upcoming exams.
I had been feeling really down over the last couple of weeks for a number of reasons. I called my Dad about a week ago, not wanting to show that I was upset. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hold the tears back. I explained to him that I was missing my family and the thought of only being able to go home in a month and a bit's time wasn't making me feel any better. Being a 10 hour drive away, there wasn't much he could do other than comfort me with his sweet words.
On Thursday afternoon I called my Dad and we chatted for a while. I told him how my week had been and I asked him what he had planned for the weekend. He told me he had to work so he wasn't going to get much of a weekend.
I awoke on Friday morning to a message from my sister. We texted back and forth for about half an hour and she asked what I had planned for the day. I asked her what she was doing this weekend and she said she had no set plans. I then went off to my driving lesson and returned back to my dorm room to see a message from my step-mom asking if we could Skype. I told her that I would love to, but I was just on my way to lunch and so I would Skype her afterwards.
My very good friend Emma's parents were planning on coming down for the weekend to visit her. I have known them since 2008 and I was looking forward to seeing them, but a small part of me wished my parents were able to come down and visit me as well.
As I was walking up to lunch from my dorm room, I saw a car parked about 70m away from my Res that looked exactly like my parents' car. I turned to Emma, my heart pounding, and I said to her "I think my family is here." I was too afraid to look back at the car because I knew that if I looked back and realized that it wasn't them I would have been heartbroken. Emma looked at me as if I was crazy and I turned back and saw that it really was our car. I just started running towards it with tears streaming down my face.
My Dad, brother and sister jumped out of the car and hugged me tightly. I was in complete shock and I couldn't stop crying and asking "what on earth are you doing here?" I was so incredibly happy! I looked back into the car to see if my step-mom and baby brother were here as well. I couldn't see them and so I asked where they were. My Dad explained that they didn't come as my baby brother was still too little for the 10 hour car trip. I was still so happy that at least some of my family was here. I texted my step-mom to say I would have to cancel our Skype date because my surprise had just arrived. We hopped into the car and decided we were going to go to a little cafe for lunch when my sister said she had left her camera back at the guest house where they were staying. My Dad said he'd turn around and fetch it. We pulled up to the guest house and as my sister got out of the car I looked outside the car window, only to see my step-mom standing in the front door, clutching my tiny baby brother, with a huge smile and tears to match the ones that were still pouring down my face. I couldn't believe that my entire family, including my precious Aunty, had come all the way to my little part of the world, just to spend time with me.
It turned out that they had been planning on surprising me for a couple of weeks. My Dad explained how difficult it was for him to hear me upset on the phone, knowing that he was coming down in a short while but not being able to tell me that.
What followed was an amazing couple of days spent with amazing people. It was so incredible to be able to show my family where I lived and studied. I cherished every moment with each one of them. I am incredibly blessed to have such a loving family who never fail to make me feel loved and adored. I now know that this next month will fly by and I cannot wait to be home again!
Photos of our weekend to follow!
I had been feeling really down over the last couple of weeks for a number of reasons. I called my Dad about a week ago, not wanting to show that I was upset. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hold the tears back. I explained to him that I was missing my family and the thought of only being able to go home in a month and a bit's time wasn't making me feel any better. Being a 10 hour drive away, there wasn't much he could do other than comfort me with his sweet words.
On Thursday afternoon I called my Dad and we chatted for a while. I told him how my week had been and I asked him what he had planned for the weekend. He told me he had to work so he wasn't going to get much of a weekend.
I awoke on Friday morning to a message from my sister. We texted back and forth for about half an hour and she asked what I had planned for the day. I asked her what she was doing this weekend and she said she had no set plans. I then went off to my driving lesson and returned back to my dorm room to see a message from my step-mom asking if we could Skype. I told her that I would love to, but I was just on my way to lunch and so I would Skype her afterwards.
My very good friend Emma's parents were planning on coming down for the weekend to visit her. I have known them since 2008 and I was looking forward to seeing them, but a small part of me wished my parents were able to come down and visit me as well.
As I was walking up to lunch from my dorm room, I saw a car parked about 70m away from my Res that looked exactly like my parents' car. I turned to Emma, my heart pounding, and I said to her "I think my family is here." I was too afraid to look back at the car because I knew that if I looked back and realized that it wasn't them I would have been heartbroken. Emma looked at me as if I was crazy and I turned back and saw that it really was our car. I just started running towards it with tears streaming down my face.
My Dad, brother and sister jumped out of the car and hugged me tightly. I was in complete shock and I couldn't stop crying and asking "what on earth are you doing here?" I was so incredibly happy! I looked back into the car to see if my step-mom and baby brother were here as well. I couldn't see them and so I asked where they were. My Dad explained that they didn't come as my baby brother was still too little for the 10 hour car trip. I was still so happy that at least some of my family was here. I texted my step-mom to say I would have to cancel our Skype date because my surprise had just arrived. We hopped into the car and decided we were going to go to a little cafe for lunch when my sister said she had left her camera back at the guest house where they were staying. My Dad said he'd turn around and fetch it. We pulled up to the guest house and as my sister got out of the car I looked outside the car window, only to see my step-mom standing in the front door, clutching my tiny baby brother, with a huge smile and tears to match the ones that were still pouring down my face. I couldn't believe that my entire family, including my precious Aunty, had come all the way to my little part of the world, just to spend time with me.
It turned out that they had been planning on surprising me for a couple of weeks. My Dad explained how difficult it was for him to hear me upset on the phone, knowing that he was coming down in a short while but not being able to tell me that.
What followed was an amazing couple of days spent with amazing people. It was so incredible to be able to show my family where I lived and studied. I cherished every moment with each one of them. I am incredibly blessed to have such a loving family who never fail to make me feel loved and adored. I now know that this next month will fly by and I cannot wait to be home again!
Photos of our weekend to follow!
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