Reunited and It Feels So Good

Growing up, my sister Katie and I were very close. We were the closest in age compared to our older siblings and we were forced to do everything together, even wear matching clothes and we eventually learned to love it. She asked me to be her maid of honor in her wedding and when she had to move away, it was the hardest and saddest goodbye I ever had to face, but We messaged each other everyday. I even had my phone taken away in class because I got caught talking to her. Once I told her about my mission to come visit, we were both so excited to see each other again. And that day had finally come!

… I landed at 7 AM (London time) and impatiently stood up thinking we would be let off right away. Unfortunately, we had to wait 10 minutes to exit the plane and because I flew economy and was sitting 3 rows from the very back of the plane, I had to wait another 10 minutes to actually move out of my row. 25 grueling minutes later, I was finally off the plane and on my way to the baggage claim. The process of getting my baggage took longer than needed since I got lost, but I eventually found my way and noticed my giant purple luggage, grabbed it and was on my way to customs.

Katie had told me not to tell the customs people that I was visiting someone in the American Air Force because they might’ve thought that I needed a visa to be in the country and it would have created a giant mess. So, as I got to the angry looking man who inspected the passports, he asked me “why are you here?” My response was that I was visiting my sister who lives in Lakenheath. “And why does she live here?” he asked and since I’m not good under pressure I said, and I quote “I don’t know. I guess she wanted a change of scenery.” He didn’t appreciate my American sassiness and looked at me as if he knew I was lying but stamped my passport anyways and told me to have fun in Britain.

I took the long walk from customs to the terminal exit and as I rounded the corner I was sad that I couldn’t see Katie and Michael anywhere. Then just as I was about to start panicking, Katie came up and hugged me and a wave of emotion washed over me. One emotion was relief that I wasn’t forgotten and the second was joy that I was finally with my sister again. We both stood there crying tears of joy then Michael told us to start walking because people were staring.

Katie handed me a cup of coffee and a muffin and we walked out to the parking lot. We talked about everything and anything on the hour ride back to their home on the base. It was like we were never apart.