Four Days 'Til Takeoff

Today was, of course, the day that Jess left for England. She spent the morning packing last-minute items such as her laptop. And then we did an online Bible study with a few of our college friends. In the middle of that, our Grandmother showed up. Now, I know I should have expected it, but I didn't. I was pleasantly surprised. Not long after she came, Jess turned to me and whispered "I think Michele is coming in too." And she was right. As a surprise, Michele and Avery came in to town so that we could all see Jess off at the airport.

We arrived at the airport around 3:45, which meant that we had quite a bit of time to wait until Jess's plane. We simply walked around the terminal until around 5, when Jess had to go through security. Of course, the rest of the family couldn't follow her there, so we had to say goodbye before we joined the line.

I knew that it was going to be difficult to say goodbye; after all, Jess and I have been pretty much inseperable since birth. Even so, I did not really expect the waterworks that occurred. It was even harder than I expected to say goodbye. I'm not one to cry easily, though Michele does (She's the first to admit it). Dad is another one who gets emotional rather easily. But by the time Jess went through security, all of us--including Mom--were misty-eyed. Mom was the one who really surprised me; I have only seen her cry maybe twice before in my life. The only one who really remained dry-eyed was Avery, and I think that this was because she didn't really understand what was going on.

So Jess is gone. By this time tomorrow, she will have been in England for nearly a day. And me? I'm still waiting for my takeoff.