A Visit to the Frozen North

I have been a Floridian for 12 years now, and long ago donated any heavy winter coats and sweaters to Goodwill. So, when I received an e-mail from my little sister saying that she and the rest of my brothers and sisters in Indiana were throwing a surprise birthday party for our mother's 74th birthday, I decided to get an airline ticket so that I could be there to help celebrate (only my little sister knew I was coming). I began to worry about having enough layers of clothing to survive the single digit and barely double digit temperatures I would encounter while in Indiana.

I called my little sister and asked her to pack a winter coat, hat and gloves into her car, so that I would have something to wear as soon as I was out of the airport. She did, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Before I touched down in Indiana, I had to leave Florida first. It had been at least two years since I had last flown. I had almost forgotten what a flyer has to go through before they even get to their departure gate. I showed my I.D. and boarding pass and passed that hurdle. Next, I removed my shoes and jacket and put them, plus my purse and book into the plastic bins so that they could be X-rayed. I then walked through the metal detector and set it off (I had forgotten my belt with its huge silver buckle). I removed my belt and walked through the detector again with no problem.

I went to the conveyor belt where I waited for my personal effects to reappear after they were finished being showered with X-rays.

It was taking too long. One of the TSA workers told me that they needed to run my purse through again. No problem, I had plenty of time (I arrived at the airport two hours before my flight was scheduled to leave). They ran it through a third time. They didn't like the look of something in my purse, they couldn't make it out.

"Ma'am, we are going to have to go through your purse, please come this way", the TSA man said.

What the heck? The man began to unzip and empty all of the pockets of my backpack-like purse. I felt like a criminal. I felt guilty for no reason. The other passengers in line were eyeing me and the contents of my purse with suspicion.

Once the TSA man had my purse emptied, he wiped down my phone, camera and the entire inside of my purse with three disc shaped swabs (they looked like the ones used to scrub your face with when fighting acne). He then placed the swabs in a machine. I guess it was sniffing the swabs for drugs or explosives of some sort.

The machine found nothing of course. Finally the TSA man said the X-ray machine operator didn't like the look of my phone or couldn't tell what it was. Granted, I don't have a fancy iPhone or Droid, it is just an old flip type phone that has no texting capabilities, but I shouldn't think it would be cause for alarm. Maybe they are not used to seeing such an outdated phone. The TSA man said he couldn't remember what pocket all of my things went back into, so I would have to repack it myself. No problem.

The whole time I am going through all of this, from I.D. check to purse re-pack, The Colonel is standing, watching and waiting, ready to wave goodbye with a look of "What the heck" on his face.

I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of what the rest of my trip will be like. It isn't.

The plane touches down and when I exit the plane and enter the gangway, the ice cold air hits me, I can see my breath and I think, why couldn't my mom have been born in a warmer month?

I spend the first night of my trip at my little sister's house. We have a delicious dinner when my brother-in-law gets home and catch up on things. I then spend all the next day at her house with specific instructions to not answer the phone while she and her husband are at work because it is still a surprise that I am in town.

Tara, my sister's Chocolate Lab mix keeps me company. She is a sweet, old girl. When my little sister and her husband came home from work we headed over to my parent's house for Mom's birthday dinner of chili, cupcakes and ice cream.

I got out of the car and carefully shuffled my way over the ice and snow to the door where my mom and other family members met me in total surprise.

It was good to see everyone and the chili sure hit the spot, especially since I was cold to the bone.

The next day I went out to lunch and did some shopping with one of my sisters, my mom and my cousin, Sara. I have never been a big shopper, but I had fun that day. Sara has always seemed more like a sister than a cousin to me.

That next day, Saturday, lunch out with three of my sisters and more shopping. We had a very delicious lunch at P.F. Chang's. I had fun shopping again...it wasn't the shopping, it was being with my sisters that was the fun part.

That evening, my mom, two of my sisters, a brother-in-law, a nephew and his wife and I went to play some darts at a local tavern. Now that was fun. I won two games.

Sunday was the main reason I made the trip back and braved Indiana's winter cold. My brothers and sisters made reservations for a surprise birthday dinner for my mom (even though her birthday was a few days earlier) at Hollyhock Hill, a well-known and well-loved, family style restaurant. The Colonel and I had our rehearsal dinner there almost 25 years ago.

I like the birdhouse and birds on the matchbook.

Mom and Dad were surprised by the dinner. There were 21 of us altogether. The food was delicious and plentiful. The servers started us out with salad items. One of those items being homemade beets. I thought of The Colonel and wished he was with me. He loves beets (I don't...can't even abide the smell of them). The fried chicken and steak were tasty as well as all of the sides. You weren't leaving that table hungry.

I sat next to my niece, who my sister-in-law says looks like me. My niece and I talked about books and writing.

When everyone had their fill and the dinner was over, we all went back to my parent's house for cake and ice cream. More family members showed up to help celebrate: nieces, nephews and great-nephews. There was a full house.

It was good to see everyone and to meet some for the first time (like my nephew who had been born since my last visit two years ago).

The time sped by and with each day that passed the temperature got a bit warmer, but it was still too cold for me and I was ready to be back in the Sunshine State's warmth as well as be back home with The Colonel and Spud.