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I know this update is quite delayed and I apologize. Therefore, this is going to be the longest entry EVER. Take a moment to get over it.
& nbsp; &n bsp; &nb sp; &nbs p; ; & nbsp; &n bsp; &nb sp; Now read.
Finals week: completed. AND I’m still alive. In fact, I did pretty well this past semester. Once the verdict was in, I came out with all A’s and a B. OK…so maybe the B was a B-…and maybe it was in Bible as Literature….but I did read! Some of the Bible at least…I was basically going off of what I learned in the cult.
& nbsp; &n bsp; Ah, yes, the cult. For those of you who don’t know, I spent the first 12 years of my life in a very strict religion (that my family now affectionately refers to as “the cult”) in which I was not allowed to celebrate any holidays. So, ever since we converted to this new religion called NORMAL, I have some catching up to do with everyone.
& nbsp; &n bsp; This year brought a couple of new experiences. Chad introduced me to “Frosty the Snowman,” which we watched during a study break on finals week. It was so good…but it’s kinda weird how Frosty says “Happy Birthday!” every time he comes to life. Maybe because I didn’t understand why he did until Chad explained it to me. I still haven’t seen “Rudolph.” Sigh. Guess that’s one for next year!
& nbsp; &n bsp; I also received my very first red stocking with my name in glitter on it!! Pammy made it for me. Granted, I somehow accidentally sat on it before it was dry and ended up with a glitter J on my ass. Ah, the irony.
& nbsp; &n bsp; We also went to Light Up Night in late November. It’s a night in downtown Pittsburgh when, obviously, they light the trees and there are tons of decorations, carolers, ice skating...the works! The evening is topped off with fireworks at Point State Park, where the rivers meet. Chad gave me a rose during the fireworks. = ) It was a beautiful evening, and hopefully a new tradition for the crew.
& nbsp; &n bsp; So, my last night at Pitt for the semester was spent shopping with Natasha. We went to Robinson, then headed back to the suite. The slut bought a pizza and we ate, packed, and watched a movie. We hate saying good-bye, even for a little while, so we generally avoid the topic until forced to address it. At which point we cry like the little babies we are. We can barely live apart for two weeks…you definitely don’t want to be around when you see the waterworks for summer break.
& nbsp; &n bsp; Magically, as our room has a tendency to do, several people were drawn down while we were packing. Chad got back from going out and stumbled into the crowded room, gifts in tow. He went to Build-A-Bear and built me a little bear that’s just like me! How cute…he bought me the pink Pitt jersey I’ve been wanting forever, too. I thought I was so ready to go home, but it was still hard to say good-bye to him for a couple weeks.
& nbsp; &n bsp; After it felt like I had just fallen asleep, I was jarred awake by my phone. It was 9:00 a.m. and, right on schedule, my father was waiting in the drive outside my dorm at least 45 minutes earlier than he said he would be. One would think, after nearly 20 years of this, I would know better.
So I jump out of bed and scramble around, making sure I have everything that I need for the next 2 weeks. Natasha is mysteriously missing, as is Pam, and I still have to say good-bye to Chad. Needless to say, over the course of the next half hour or so, I received approximately 5 calls from my Dad asking where I was.
And suddenly, I realize that I don’t want to go home.
But the car is packed, and I’ve said my tearful good-byes-for-now.
So I slump down in the front seat of my car and fall asleep on the way to my sister’s. We had to drop off some presents she had ordered through my mom’s work. The day brightened when she opened their front door and semi-waddled out to greet us.
My sister’s have the greatest pregnant bellies. Perhaps I’m just biased, but it’s true. Krissy’s was great, just right when we were in Alaska. Seven months and you could see and feel Lucas moving around like crazy. And Carrie, who is now entering her fifth month, has this adorable round belly that’s starting to get in her way. She’s so petite that it is causing her to sort of waddle around, but however much she may not like some aspects of it, ultimately she loves being pregnant. Miss Conservative-Attire sticks to her maternity business clothes, but when she’s around the house, oftentimes you’ll catch her in some ch-ch pants and a t-shirt….dun dun dun…tucked up so her perfect tummy sticks out.
“It gets so hot,” she’ll complain.
I haven’t seen my sister’s midriff this much since she was 16. It’s great.
So, once we’ve left Carrie and Scott’s, we make the over 2 hour journey to Johnstown. I fall asleep, wake up for a Sheetz stop, and fall back asleep, only to wake up as we are literally entering Johnstown.
I don’t know what it is nowadays that affects me. Perhaps it is the way the aroma from the sewage plant is the first smell, and how the graffiti on the riverbanks is the first sight, followed by the projects, or the way it is instantly dreary and gray, regardless of the season…but I hate Johnstown. It’s just not home to me anymore. The house that I grew up in is there, the family and friends that I love are there…but it’s not home anymore.
& nbsp; &n bsp; As we turned onto North St. and parked in front of my house, I resigned myself to making an attempt to enjoy the next two weeks of R & R. I lugged my suitcases up the three stories to my room and grabbed my cat, Gazzy (pronounced Jazzy or CrazyNutty)…I missed that little bastard.
& nbsp; &n bsp; And the next week was spent lying around the house. I honestly don’t think I left unless it was to pick up or drop off my mom at work. The only time I did leave for a reason was for Hailey’s 1st birthday party in the middle of a snowstorm. She’s absolutely adorable, taking a few steps, and learning more and more words. I can’t explain what it’s like to watch this tiny little person forming…it must be an amazing experience for Jody.
I can’t wait to have a bunch of babies of my own (in like 10 years of course). Everyone knows I’m obsessed with babies – there are at least four large Anne Geddes photos of babies on my wall. To clarify, I’m not just some baby-loving freak…there just is nothing as pure and innocent as an infant, unknowing of the evil in the world around us, gaze fixed on his mother’s face, taking in all that is right and beautiful in the world.
Snapping back to the reality of my break.
Wednesday night, Christmas Eve Eve Eve. I had just finished watching “Elf” for the millionth time, this time with the Mom & Pops. 9:30 p.m. I’m in my PJ’s and seriously contemplating just going to bed. Mom has already climbed the stairs, the clock officially striking half an hour past her bedtime. Dad has assumed his nightly position, kicked back in his recliner by the front door, watching t.v.
*Sigh*
Guess I’ll check my e-mail in the next room, then hit the hay. I cannot believe what a loser I am.
I had just sat down at the computer when I heard the front door open. I assumed it was Dad doing something on the porch and coming back inside. Until I heard a voice that I could never possibly mistake.
“We’re home!”
My jaw dropped. There was no way. It simply could not be possible. A huge lump formed in the back of my throat. I could feel the tears threatening to spill down my cheeks.
I nearly knocked the chair over when I stood up, rushing to peer into the living room to confirm my suspicions. My hands flew to my mouth and the tears began to flow before I could even utter a word.
There, in the doorway, stood my brother, my baby nephew Lucas in his arms, and Krissy, peeking over Johnny’s shoulder with a huge smile on her face.
They had flown the whole way from Anchorage to surprise us for Christmas.
They had told us weeks earlier that they had purchased plane tickets to come home in the end of January, which was exciting but somewhat depressing as I would be back at school. And here they were.
“You lied to me!” I sobbed as my brother wrapped me in a huge bear hug.
Mom had heard all the racket and now was making her way down the stairs, yelling:
“What the hell’s the matter, Jessica –“ she stopped mid-sentence when she saw her kids and grandbaby. And, of course, started to cry.
“Here,” Johnny practically threw Lucas into my arms, along with a bottle.
I slowly sunk down into the chair, the chaos of the previous minutes washing away as Lucas’ gaze locked on mine, over his bottle, of course. I was holding my baby nephew for the first time. He was more perfect than I ever could have imagined. Every picture that I had seen had not done justice to his soft, chubby cheeks, perfect bow lips, wide green-blue eyes, the tiny cleft in his chin, the slight peach fuzz on his head. He is a miracle.
A couple tears still squeezed out while I fed him, but they were well deserved. This was the best Christmas present I ever could have imagined.
Krissy’s friend Megan had picked them up from Pittsburgh International Airport. They had yet to surprise Krissy’s parents, Rick and Andrea. That’s where Baby Jessie came into play. The Rieks live near an Eat ‘n Park restaurant. Jokingly, I suggested that I drive Johnny, Krissy, and Lucas over, but have them remain in the car and I’ll knock on the Rieks door, pretending to have car problems after having left the restaurant.
My stupid mouth.
“YES! You have to do that!” Krissy insisted.
Fine. Let’s keep in mind, it was about 11:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night. So, I pull up a little bit down from their driveway, and approach the door. I knock and wince at Max, Krissy’s huge black lab, who begins to bark loudly. Rick’s gonna kill me, Rick’s gonna kill me…is the mantra in my head.
Andrea answers the door. Krissy’s mother is a quiet, kind woman that has a huge heart. I see Krissy in her eyes and mannerisms. I see Krissy in Lucas’s eyes.
“Jessie!” Andrea exclaims and instantly wraps me in a warm hug.
“Come in, come in, how are you?” She asks, opening the door and motioning for me to come inside.
How do I lie to this woman? Damn my brother and sister-in-law.
“Well, actually I can’t stay. I just stopped because my car is acting up and –“
“Oh, here, let me give you the phone so you can call your dad.”
Uh oh.
“Um, actually do you think Rick could look at my car?”
She looked at me like I was half-crazy. Did I really to make Rick get out of bed and look at my car?
“Oh, well, okay,” She yelled for Rick up the stairs.
Begrudgingly, he came down the steps, but approached me with his chesire cat grin and pulled me into a tight hug.
“How the hell have you been?” He said as we headed out to the car.
I answered, and my heart started pounding a little more quietly. The fun part was coming!
“So, what exactly is wrong with your car?”
“Um, it’s making a weird noise…”
Thank God, at that moment, Krissy stepped out of the backseat, holding Lucas in her arms.
“What the-“
I witnessed yet another reunion, and again once we were inside the house. I thought Andrea was going to faint. One hand flew to her heart and the other clutched the wall as though she were seeing a ghost.
We brought their suitcases inside and got everyone settled for the night, at least. The plan was to flip-flop back and forth between the Riek’s and our house.
I drove home that night in the most elated mood I had been in since getting back to Johnstown. I couldn’t wait to go to sleep because it meant the morning, and seeing my brother and his family, would come that much faster.
The next couple days flew by in a blur. I held Lucas as much as I possibly could. I discovered I have a knack for patting his back and bouncing him just right so that he calms down. He helped me realize that babies are resilient and I’m not going to break him simply by holding him close to my heart. We shared many many smiles.
And he peed on me at Andrea’s new house. We definitely bonded.
It was the best Christmas I have ever had. Early in the afternoon of Christmas Day, Johnny, Krissy, Lucas, Carrie, Scott, and their bun-in-the-oven arrived, followed by Aunt Barbara, Stephy, Andrea, and her fiancé Darren.
It’s amazing to see the different paths our lives have started to take.
It seems like yesterday when we were children, playing in Gram’s backyard, or napping on the guest bed in Mom and Aunt Barbara’s old room, all of us kids lined up in a row, or the time we thought we lit the insulation on fire in Gram’s attic because we were snooping around and playing with matches. Regardless of what mischief we might have found ourselves in, we always had each other. We were each other’s alibis, clowns, targets, and shoulders to cry on.
It still remains that way. But with a sweet twist.
Johnny, Carrie, and Andrea have each found someone to bring into our motley crew. A crucial addition, a missing piece to the puzzle that forms this beautiful portrait of our ever growing family. I hope we have served to adequately welcome Krissy, Scott, and Darren into this picture, of course with the mandatory, but good-natured, bantering and teasing. I’m fairly certain that we have.
Christmas dinner served as an example. All of us sat, squeezed together around our entirely too small dining room table. Once the prayer was said and the food started to circulate, my brother-in-law, Scott could simply not resist an opportunity to get in a jab…directed at Baby Jessie, of course.
“Hey, Jessie, could you pass the birth control, I mean…mashed potatoes?” Evil little twinkle lights up his eyes.
“So, how is Chad by the way?”
Laughter erupted from the entire table and I felt my face growing hot. Only in my family would we joke of such things during CHRISTMAS DINNER. I couldn’t help it though…a grin started to tug at the corners of my mouth and I was forced to join in the laughter. Thank God the boy wasn’t there and was therefore spared. For the time being that is…
Another example of how these essential additions are bringing fresh elements to the mix was an evening out to the Haven, Johnstown’s bar for twentysomethings. Andrea, Darren, Johnny, Krissy, Stephy, Mike, and I all headed down. It was packed, standing room only. So, the underagers hung out next to the jukebox in the corner, not necessarily by choice but moreso because we were forced back into the tiny space.
Anticipating an exciting evening of actual bar-drinking, I was sadly mistaken. Johnny almost instantly turned to me and said:
“You’re not drinking anything.”
MY brother is the only person that can honestly piss me off. We have such a strong tie to one another, perhaps it is because we have no fear of the repercussions of being honest with one another…but the boy can piss me off. But we always end up closer than ever.
My mom often relates a story of when we were little in reference to this theory of mine. We had a little red wagon that we could sit in and be pulled around the house. I was just learning to talk and was sitting in the wagon minding my own damn business when Johnny apparently climbed in and wouldn’t leave upon several of my polite requests. Finally, he made all 12 months or so of me SO mad that I grabbed his collar and shook his scrawny 3-year old body and yelled:
“JOHNNY POPSICLE, YOU MAKE ME SOO MAD!”
The simple confusion of my last name was fixed easily. Popovich, not Popsicle, Jessie. But no one was able to fix Johnny’s ability to piss me off.
So, back to the bar. Krissy shoots me several understanding looks, and slips me her Long Island Iced Tea. We share a knowing smile and Johnny catches us. But he’s not too mad. Later, she snuck up to the bar and got us each the yummiest shot ever – chocolate cake. It’s Frangelica and Vodka and, believe it or not, it does taste exactly like chocolate cake. I have a picture of she and I taking the shot together.
Mike offered to D.D., and the under-agers leave to party with some of our friends. After several beers at John’s apartment, Mike, Stephy, and I met up with the original crew at Coney Island, the most disgusting hot dog place on Earth. That’s right, even more than the O! Everyone is drunk, Johnny and I are best friends again, and we all enjoy some Sundowners (hamburgers with an egg on it- yummy!) and I had the most amazing cheeseburger.
That was one of my last REALLY enjoyable nights. I came down with something…I like to refer to it as the FLU OF THE DEVIL…and officially felt dead for about a week of break. I couldn’t eat anything, yet my body acted like I had something to puke up constantly. It was fun.
I spent New Year’s Eve at my high school friend’s place. Brad was a great host and I had fun, sipping on my glass of orange juice that still made me want to vomit. As seems to be the tradition, Jody and I left after the ball dropped and headed home. It was nice to see everyone from high school…but I was illing to be with Chad and the whole crew. Chad called me at least 5 times that night. Pretty much once every hour – but I only spoke to him twice. Seeing as I went to sleep at 1, I got at least 3 voicemails from him after that. I think he likes me. ; )
The day after New Year’s, Andrea, Mom, and Dad drove Krissy, Johnny, Lucas and I to Carrie and Scott’s place. We all spent an hour or so standing around, laughing anxiously…dreading the inevitable heart-wrenching good-bye. I was staying at Carrie’s the following night and Scott was going to bring me back to Pitt. So I still had one more night and part of a day with Krissy, Johnny, and Lucas.
It shocked me when my mom decided it was time for them to hit the road. I was proud of her for her strength. Of course, the lower lip started to quiver as she made the suggestion, and shortly thereafter she burst into tears, but I was still proud. Johnny and Krissy had presents for most of us. They had sneaked pictures of us throughout the 2 weeks, and had blown up certain ones and framed them. Now a picture of me actually holding my Baby Lucas sits on top of the t.v. in my room.
After Mom, Dad, and Andrea left, we all sat around Carrie and Scott’s huge picnic bench style table. I sat at the head, Carrie and Scott on one side, Krissy and Johnny on the other. Lucas was asleep on the large island in the kitchen.
We sat like that and talked for hours. Just us kids, basking in each other’s presence…a presence we don’t realize how much we miss until we all part…again.
We spent that time laughing about our lives. The cult…Friday nights spent falling asleep on the couch while Dad would read the Bible out loud, how I used to get carsick on the hour-long drive to church, which led to Johnny also getting carsick because he still gags at the sight of any body fluid. We reminisced about the walks that Dad would take Johnny and I on through Stackhouse Park. He still claims today that he gave us M&M’s when we named a plant correctly…but they were definitely raisins. Chocolate was not something encountered until Kindergarten. Times when Johnny and his friends would steal Dad’s wine (or the devil’s brew as they called it) and get deathly sick. Our friends, new and old encountering the Energy Mug for the first time. The story that definitely brought the most laughs was remembering Kombucha.
Kombucha. The large fungus that Dad grew in a bowl on top of the china closet. We think it took over the top of the china closet and Dad had to move it downstairs. That’s why no one ever goes down there. Nobody knows when Kombucha might attack.
No one wanted to end the evening. But eventually, we all wandered upstairs to our rooms. Carrie and Scott slept in their gi-normous King sized bed with Lucas in between them. Practicing parents. Eager for their own little one to arrive.
The next day, early afternoon, we drove to the Pittsburgh International Airport to say good-bye. Everyone says it gets easier as the years go by. Johnny has been living in Alaska for 3 years now. It doesn’t get any easier to say good-bye to your best friend. So, Carrie and I cried and had a very quiet ride back to the house. We’ll see our brother and sister-in-law, and of course, our Baby Lucas again in July. He’ll be 9 months old, and Baby Ortsey will be about 2 months…just around Lucas’s age now.
My hope in one of my last entries was that Christmas would be as interesting as Thanksgiving. And it certainly was. I look forward to next year when we’ll have a 1-year old and a 6-month old entertaining us. It’s as though these babies are breathing life back into our family.
So maybe I did learn that wherever may feel like “home” to you…it’s about whom you’re with, not where you are that really matters.
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