For Spring Break last week, I was able to go home to Dallas and see my family for awhile. Of course, as is the trend with all things home lately, it was not your average visit or your average Spring Break.
It started out pretty bittersweet; of course I was glad to be home and to see my family for the first time in months, but it wasn't exactly the visit home that you dream about. After I got in Friday night, my first stop was the hospital, where my sister was receiving chemo. Like I said, not exactly the average visit home. I hated that my first stop in Dallas was the hospital, and that we had to go to the hospital at all. As a result of the chemo and everything, my sister was not exactly jumping up and down to see me, in fact she wasn't even awake. To see my sister for the first time in months, and to see her in her hospital bed, hooked up to IV's and everything is not exactly the way I wanted to see her.
Coming home and going straight to the hospital got me thinking about how different my experiences going home this year have been. They have all been bittersweet. The first time I went home was Thanksgiving, when we got the worst kind of news. Then after that was Christmas break, and while it was nice to be home for so long, that was a very hard time as it was the beginning of all these awful treatments and adjusting to hospital stays and this "new normal". And now, a few months later, it all comes back to me.
It's not that I forget about my sister and what she's going through when I'm away at school, but it's almost like it's not as bad. You let yourself believe that it's not that bad, and that she's doing okay. And even though, that might be true sometimes, it was definitely a reality check to see her laying in that hospital bed. I had to choke back tears at one point, and I kept thinking "I want my sister back!" I want my outgoing, crazy, fun-loving sister back. Not this sister who feels like crap and can barely manage to hug me when I come in town! It definitely made the visit a little bittersweet at first.
Luckily later in the week, I got that sister back, and we got to do a lot of fun things! We spent 2 nights at The W Hotel in downtown Dallas (my mom, my sister & I and 3 of Anna's best friends), we went to Dallas Mavericks games, did some shopping, and just spent time together. It was great to bond with her for awhile and great to spend time with her while she was feeling good. It was definitely the part of the week that was all sweet and not bitter at all!
Overall, it was a great week and I am so glad I got to spend the week at home! Just in true Basso family style as of late, it just wasn't your average spring break. But average is over rated anyway!
