The Best Surprise
Every week I tell myself I’m going to sit down and write. And every week I get a little done but not as much as I wish I did.
Through the messiness and business of life, I’ve gotten caught up with household responsibilities, looking after my family, and finding space to myself. There’s one lingering emotion that has been coming to mind when I take a step back. And, unfortunately, that tends to be loneliness. Every single day is filled with things I need to finish for my family, myself, and basic responsibilities but at the end of the day I hardly see most of my family.
The sweetest most fulfilling relationship I have right now is that with my siblings. My brothers are currently studying abroad and my twin sister is working a lot of hours. I don’t see them as often as I wish. My late nights are spent hanging out with my brothers over FaceTime, gaming with them, or simply having long conversations with them. My twin sister is often with us and it’s my favorite time of the day.
Why am I sharing all of this? I’m getting there :)
Three weeks ago, my youngest brother told me that he couldn’t come up to Texas for a concert we had been planning on going. I was really bummed, but not super surprised. He’s been super busy with his college classes and is one of the most dedicated students I know. The following Friday, there was a household project of moving most of the furniture in the house. My youngest sister and I spent the entire day moving as much of the furniture as we could. By the end of the day, we were tired, exhausted, hungry, and very hangry.
By the time I was going to run to grab a bite to eat, I was at the point of tears because of how exhausted I was. You know how every little thing is hyper-focused in your mind when you’re tired? That’s kind of how it was. The entire day was spent missing my brothers especially since I was in their room moving their furniture and thinking about how much easier it would be to move things with them who are two to three times much stronger than me.
After dinner, I called my other brother and we spent some time just having a super long conversation about my day. Instantly, I felt so much better talking to him. But it was quickly overshadowed by a niggle of worry. It was seven-thirty in the afternoon but my twin sister had not gotten back home from work. A bit weirded out, I texted her telling her to text me back. I tried telling myself that she was fine that there was no reason to worry. She was old enough to stay safe and be out as late as she wanted. I told my brother how I felt and he reassured me that she was probably fine. Thirty minutes turned into a whole hour and she was still not back. My mom started freaking out which only caused me to worry more. She began calling people she knew had been with her. I tried texting family members, but no one was answering.
My small worry turned into an avalanche of “what-ifs”. It was difficult to not think about the worst-case scenario. It increased until, I grabbed my car keys and told my mom, “I’m going to go look for her.” She asked me, “Where are you going?” And I told her, “The store.” I was already planning to retrace all my sister’s steps. She had told me she had been planning on going to the store and get gas after work.
And that was when I saw it. Her car lights in the driveway. When I tell you I was furious at her for not texting me back… I was stomping into the garage enraged that she hadn’t texted me back. I got to her car and yanked on the door.
She wasn’t in the car. What the heck? I thought to myself feeling majorly creeped out. I then heard my little sister yell from inside the house saying she was coming in from the front door. The only thing racing through my head was I’m going to give her a piece of my mind for giving me such a scare.
As I got to the front door, my sister opened the door. And standing behind my sister was a large shadow. My mouth dropped open and the only thought that flew through my brain was She brought home a man.
It was only then that the shadow came into the light and to my utter shock my youngest brother was standing there with a cheeky “hello”.
The words that came out of my mouth in my shock were “you’re such a liar!” (not my proudest moment XD) I had been deceived so thoroughly and the utter relief that my sister was safe was so intense I started sobbing. My brother just hugged me and comforted me in his own way. My mom was crying, too. And it was all such a mess of wild emotions. Never in my wildest imaginations had I thought my siblings were surprising me with my brother on a random weekend. All of them had been in on it. I had been entirely shocked to hear that they had been trying to hard to avoid being caught because it is insanely difficult to surprise me. I always catch on before it happens.
Anyways, all of that to say, that it was one of the best surprises I have had in years. I am so excited for my brothers to come back for winter break! There aren’t many people who can instantly put a smile on my face no matter what they do, but for my brothers, it’s so easy. I love them to death and am thankful God gave me such an amazing mix of siblings.
I encourage ya’ll to do something kind for your siblings. You never know when life will take them so far that it’ll be a blessing if you see them on a weekend.
Praying for you all <3