My last day in Austin was mainly full of errands with my aunt, taking new toys to her specialty toy stores, picking up lunch and ice cream for my uncle, and hitting the grocery store for only healthy, no sugar added, no preservatives food. I was able to see my cousins' private school, its beautiful campus with kids of all ages running around in their cute little uniforms and SUVs lined up to take them home.
Aunt Jill planned to make spaghetti for dinner, but Uncle Rich knew I needed to have my last dinner at another local restaurant, Hyde Park Bar & Grill. I had to do it right on my last night, so I ordered the chicken fried steak with creamed corn and buttermilk fries. After dinner, I treated the family to my favorite ice cream spot, Amy's, where I ordered "The Elvis" consisting of Mexican Vanilla ice cream, peanut butter cups, and bananas. (The Mexican Vanilla is a lot like the cake batter flavor you can find at other shops, a flavor whose special ingredient is apparently vanilla bean with a strain of orchid, something you can only find in Mexico.) Christian (who, may I remind you, is 8) tried to offer to pay for everyone's treats, not knowing I'd already paid. When he learned that I'd beat him to the punch, he scowled as if I'd stolen his idea. "Ugh! I'm so disgusted!" he said. What a little character, that kid!
Tuesday morning, I literally woke up to the smell of fresh tortillas with eggs, cheese, and salsa. Aunt Jill makes fabulous smoothies too, and this time, it was peach mango. Muy delicioso! I squeezed the cousins goodbye as they left for school, and Aunt Jill and I drove around the UT campus and grabbed some Einstein bagels before I was dropped at the airport.
The rest of the day was pretty much just as emotional as I expected. Two flights, a train ride, and two metro lines later, I had made it home . . eight hours later. My first day back at work didn't help out with the whole emotional thing, but God is good, and sadness and confusion are two things that always bring me even closer to Him.
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