Saturday, April 28, 2012

Triggers

Soon, in a little over a week, I'll be headed back to the U.S.  I've been thinking about how the reconnect with my family will be.  I want to believe I'll be full of swagger in my tire shoes, striding into the baggage claim to see my parents, brother, and best friend, all smiles.  While I do believe I'll be smiling, I'm pretty sure I'll also have some big fat tears settling in my eyes.
To be honest with you - and I do so love to share - my parents are my tear-trigger.  Everyone has one, I'm sure. I know that my Dad's trigger are great movie-moments, such as the ending of The Champ (if you haven't seen it, do be sure to try).  My mom get's teary-eyed when she watches videos of soldiers' surprising their kids when they come home.  My brother when a door smacks him on top of the head, and my best friend when a book character she's particularly attached to has a rough time.  Well, okay, I get emotional over fictional characters too.
When I miss my parents, and they miss me, strange occurrences begin to... well, occur.  For instance, my dad likes to have my mother send me text messages with contents that will get me riled up, only to tell me it's a joke.  My dad and I have a special relationship built on love and little fibs that entertain us greatly.  It's a joke in the family that when we tease someone, it's how we show that we care very much about the individual (just ask my friends, or my brother's friends).
My mom and I keep in touch pretty well, and she's also my gossip go-to for the things happening at home.  She is also my liaison for the rest of the family.  We just figured out, after 13 weeks of being away, how to communicate via video chat through Facebook.  Did you know you could chat through Facebook? I didn't before about a few weeks ago.  She took the time to show me how the pet fishes were doing in the tank, and made sure to angle the computer so I could see my dog.  
In any case, my parents are my tear-trigger, meaning that if I see one of them with that shining, cry-eye then mine instantly well up.  This also includes my brother, but the men in my family rarely cry.  I'm not sure if my family will tear up, but I'm expecting it from at least my mother and my friend, so I was assured that tissues would be provided.
Who knows, I might just cry when I see a bag of M&Ms, or a cheeseburger.  It's the little things I tend to miss the most.  I even miss having my puppy stare at me with big googly eyes when I head for the bread-drawer in the kitchen.

1 comment:

  1. GREAT KRISTIN! You didn't even have to wait til you saw me at the airport. I've already starting the tearing. BRAT! This was a good one!!!!!

    ReplyDelete