So, yes, we are back in Tulsa. No, we haven’t had much time to stop and think. It’s been go-go-go. But I’m not complaining. It’s great and refreshing to see my friends, family, and home town again. Some things have changed, but most things have not.
We arrived in Tulsa late, LATE Sunday night/Monday morning. Steve, Indi’s Dad, is hosting us for a week or so until our house is clear and we can get moved in. For this time, we are still living out of our packs. However, things are slowly creeping towards a sense of ‘normalcy’. Our first item of business was to visit our mothers, as they were understandably eager to see us. They’d both taken vacation days on Monday so we split up to cover more ground and prevent parental meltdown. Indi’s Dad dropped me off at Mom’s place at about 11:00 AM.
I walked up to the front door and knocked. I waited. Frankly, I was surprised the interior door wasn’t open and/or Mom wasn’t standing out in the front yard, regardless of how cold it was outside. She had contacted Indi’s Mom twice in the last twelve hours asking if she’d seen or heard from us; she had also sent me regular communications via e-mail and text. I knew she was very eager to see me. I went ahead and went inside to a quiet house. Tyler, my brother, was asleep on the couch. Grandma was shuffling towards the front door from her room and stopped when she saw me.
I smiled my biggest smile, walked over, and gave her a big ol’ hug. She hugged back and I could tell she was having difficulty speaking due to emotional overload. She was so incredibly happy to see me home safe and sound. I asked her where Mom was, and she pointed towards Mom’s room. Tyler stirred, looked at me sleepy eyed, and also seemed to disbelieve I was standing there. I shook his hand while he gathered his bearings before walking to Moms closed bedroom door. I could hear muffled talking between her and her beau Keith. I knocked. “Come in,” she said, unaware of who had done the knocking. I opened the door and peeked my Travelin’ Hat and head around the door. Mom was sitting on her bed, talking to Keith, who was sitting in a chair near the foot of the bed.
“I’m home.”
Mom stared. It appeared that she was processing this new information. After roughly five or six seconds of silence and contemplation, she snapped into understanding. “Oh my GOD!” she shouted and ran around her bed. What followed was quite possibly the fiercest hug I have ever encountered. She wept, which in turn made ME weep. It was so wonderful to see her again. I was introduced to Keith. We sat and talked for a while, then Mom, Tyler, and I went out to lunch. Later that afternoon, I took possession of my car and drove to meet Indi at her Mom’s. I’ll let her tell you about that side of the day.
Since then, we’ve met up with many of our friends. I’ve driven around a lot of the town. Some things are new, some things are gone, but most things are as we left them. It’s real good to be home.
Now the trick is to eat at all my favorite restaurants without succumbing to food comas every day.
Rhys' Pieces 