Katie & Paul's Excellent Adventure

January 2, 2010

Day 1: kk flies to Boston and helps Paul pack

The family and boxes

A very-groggy Aaron drove me to the airport. As much as I will miss him this week, I have to remind myself that this trip will result in my little brother leaving his girlfriend of four years (Stephanie—she’s awesome) in Boston as she finishes her graduation requirements. So really, being apart from Aaron for another week isn’t so bad. It’s a sad time for little Paul, but an exciting one too. And who knows what the future has in store for him. The lucky thing is, he knows where God (or the universe, or fate, or whatever else you want to call it) wants him to be at this stage in his life, and he’s strong enough to follow that path. He’s a brave little dude.

Yes, I keep calling him “little.” Yes, I know he’s a full five inches taller than me. Yes, he is the tallest in our family. I don’t care. He’s still the little four-year-old who can’t quite make his hand hold up four fingers to illustrate his age. Good God, I’m old.

Anyway, I slept on my first flight, despite the baby sitting on her mother’s lap next to me. She was actually quite cute, with jack-o-lantern teeth and little squishy baby fingers. She wasn’t as cute once she started exercising her lungs, but I suppose if I were a baby and just figured out how to use them, I’d exercise them too.

The second flight was delayed twice. The first time we were on the ground, the second time we were in the air circling the airport. The reason was snow! Boston got 6inches of snow yesterday, most of it pouring down on our heads as we packed up the moving truck. To be honest though (don’t think I’m crazy) I kinda liked it. Living in Charleston means never seeing the snow and now that I’m in the midst of it—gosh I missed it!

Ok, on to the packing. My parents got to Paul’s place around 9:30 am and left at 8:30pm with all the stuff we’re moving packed and ready to go. Stephanie and I stayed until 11pm, throwing out trash and stuff, As for cleaning, Stephanie is taking care of that once Paul leaves.

Of course, we did take a shabu shabu break in the middle of all our work. Shabu shabu is Japanese cuisine. You choose a broth base (miso), a meat (prime rib), and a noodle (udon). You cook the noodles, meat and vegetables in the both and it is DELICIOUS. WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE???

Eventually, I retired to my hotel room for some well-needed rest. Tomorrow we embark on our adventure. It’s going to be great!

Dad tiredly waves goodbye in front of our truck. He took it back to RI so it didn't have to spend the night in Boston. Look at the snow!

Stephanie's puppy Cadence is adorable and very helpful when it comes to packing by chewing on your socks and sneaking out the door to play in the snow. She doesn't want her daddy to leave!