Paris is My Favorite!

Family time is always time well spent.

However, when your family (half of it, at least) shows up at your door unexpectedly, well, that's still "time well spent"... it just means you have to adjust your mindset and realize that your apartment is no longer your own. Well, at least not for the next few days.

My father had said to me a few days prior that he "might" make it to town for Thanksgiving. I had already planned to stay put, seeing as how most of my aunts, uncles and cousins already live here. We would make a day-trip to see my grandmother on Thursday, and return that same evening. If Dad could make it down, that would be wonderful. But, I wasn't holding my breath.

Well, Tuesday afternoon, I'm busy texting my younger sister "Paris" who reveals to me that she and my father will be hitting the road shortly to drive down. Huh? "We were waiting on Mom, but I don't think she intends to come," Paris says. There's so much wrong with that statement, I don't know where to begin.

First, why hasn't my dad called to tell me that he did, indeed, decide to drive down for the holiday? Second, explain why my mother isn't coming and no one has been able to get in touch with her for hours? Third, where are the two of you planning to stay? Finally, when did anyone expect that I would be clued-in on these last-minute decisions?!

It's fine. They are my blood! Of course, I will accommodate them. Daddy can stay with his brother on one side of town, and I will bring my little sis to the apartment to kick it for a few days. This will be fun! Well, a few hours into their car ride, Paris texts again to say "Daddy says we're both staying with you. BTW, how long will you be up? We should get in around 1 am."

Thanks for the heads up!!

Okay, let me set up the futon so my dad has a place to sleep. I hope my roomie's BFF hadn't planned on spending the night (who am I kidding though? she LIVES here). I busy myself with Conan O'Brien until they finally arrive.

When they walk through the door, I am truly elated to see them. Though I had just been home a few weeks ago, it was great to hug and kiss both of them again. I was disappointed that Mom hadn't made the trip, but with all of these "last minute decisions" my father had made, she hadn't had the opportunity to change her existing plans. I understood.

The next morning, Dad was off to play golf with my uncles, leaving my sister and me to our own devices. Paris managed to sleep in until 2 o'clock. She probably would have slept later if I hadn't pounced on her - forcing her to get up, shower, and make plans with me for the day. We shopped, and made our way to Hooters for dinner (they have the BEST wings!!). It's amazing how much sisters have in common. While I bombarded her with questions about every single purchase (many of which she completely dismissed) and playfully chastised her when she ignored my questions... I clearly saw how much we actually had in common. We try not to concern ourselves with things that do not concern us. That's kind of rare among women. We both love sports and are comfortable in our own skin (hence the Hooters pick for dinner). We love music, we laugh easily, and sometimes find frustration in communicating with people with minimal intelligence. Like I said, family time is always time well spent.

When we got home, I made her a cocktail so we could watch the Carolina game and wrap gifts. That's what big sisters are for!! Her infectious laugh at my neurotic gift-wrapping techniques was soon followed by heated demands and long-drawn sighs hurled towards Carolina's starting line-up. She's a little imbalanced, my little sister. Eventually the evening ended and we headed to bed, knowing that Thanksgiving day was bound to be long.

I would soon find "long" to be a vast understatement.