Suprise, Nebraska!

I woke up last Thursday with a nagging thought. I hadn’t seen my Mom since arriving back in the States and since my plans to visit during Thanksgiving were dashed (work interference, dammit), I didn’t have any solid plans to see her and my step father in Nebraska.

Nebraska is close enough to Illinois to be manageable, but just far enough away to require several days off. My days off were soon going to be in short supply with a pending re-employment to my favorite Chicago based retail company, “Straight and Narrow”. cough.

So when I woke up on Thursday morning, I realized that the coming weekend would be my last full weekend for the foreseeable future. With every sip of coffee that morning, the thought of traveling to Nebraska seemed more and more appealing. I though to myself, “I can leave tomorrow (Friday) morning… spend all day Saturday… and then drive back Sunday!” I can usually make the drive from Illinois to the center of Nebraska somewhere between 10-12 hours.

But the big question rattling around in my head was if I should call Mom and let her know I was coming?

Think about it. I haven’t seen her since last winter. I’ve been overseas for six months. Should I drive 10+ hours to knock on her door as a surprise?

Hell yes! My deliberation didn’t last very long.

Fast forward to the next day (Halloween) after driving 10 hours through Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.

I arrived at her door around 5pm on Halloween (Friday) just when she was supposed to get home from work. When I knocked, the dog barked, but that was the only movement I heard. It was a GORGEOUS day in Nebraska with blue skies and 80 degrees. I decided to sit down on the (new and gorgeous) deck to enjoy the afternoon and wait for her to come home.

Then I heard the toilet flush inside the house.

hmmm…. so I got up and went to my car to get my cell phone. I walked to the front door again and called the house phone. My Mom answers, “Hello?”. And I play it cool, “Hey Mom. How are you? How was your day?” I’m trying to decide how to make this a surprise still without having to ask her to come to the door so, I knocked again. HARD.

I knock so hard that now I’m certain I came off as an intruder of some sort. Not to mention, the dog started barking like crazy. And the whole time I could hear the scene being played in stereo through the telephone as I was standing at the door.

I knocked once. I knocked twice. But still no one would answer the door even though I clearly had her on the phone with me. It took me having to press my face in the window (I know, also kinda creepy) and yell, “Answer the door, Mom!” before she let me in.

At which point I yelled, “Trick or Treat!” to her screams of disbelief. Hugs and kisses and a great reunion ensued! I wished that I had a video of the scene but my memory will serve me well for it. And I have a feeling it’ll be a memory that will stay in me for the longest.

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