This morning was a frenetic buzz of activity over at the Flamster family residence, as my sister (hereafter referred to as madcow) prepared to leave us to go to Mississauga for school. Space Lord (aka my brother) had to leave early to go to school to orient the first-year music students, so he didn’t go with us to the airport. Instead, he said his goodbyes before he left. No, they did not include even one hug and/or kiss, as our friend Nathan was half-joking about last night at the bubble tea place. (Nathan was asking him if he’d hug and kiss madcow goodbye, and Space Lord joked: “No, but I’ll hug and kiss you, Nathan!” Hahaha.)
Everyone was up by about 6:45 AM to get the final things done before leaving, such as a final weighing of the luggage to make sure it wasn’t TOO over the limit set for the Skyservices airline. We had this electronic scale downstairs, so not only did the luggage get weighed, but we all weighed ourselves and assorted objects (such as Space Lord’s friend’s amp/speaker… at least 46 pounds) as well. (madcow belatedly saw this Air Canada pamphlet which said that their luggage limits were, in some cases, twice that of Air Canada, but too late) Once our dad loaded everything in the car, we were on our way to the airport… traffic was really congested, but we made it in time. After my mom and sister had got the luggage under control, Dad left for work.
Once inside the crowded airport, we saw three of madcow’s friends, who had come to see her off. Dawn, Cindy, and Becky waited with me while my mom and sister checked in. (My mom is going over to be with madcow for the first nine days or so. She’s worried that her plane home won’t leave on the advertised date {next Thursday, the 12[sup]th[/sup]} because of the anniversary of 9/11.) After they had checked in, we went to sit down a while before they had to actually go to their gate. My mom was continually asking us if we wanted anything to eat or drink (as she’d buy it for us), but we’d all eaten already, so we just talked and took photos. (we talked about school, church, winter vacation, etc.)
When it came time to go to the gate, we four hung back while they went in line to pay the “airport improvement fee” ( :rolleyes: ). Then it was time for the last goodbyes for three and a half months. I did not hug my sister (she was expecting that, I think), but I did say goodbyes. These friends of hers (Dawn in particular… they’ve known each other since preschool) will definitely miss her. Cindy was crying a little, and when we saw the two of them approach the departure gate, I could tell that my sister was fast losing her composure.
As for the rest of us, we weren’t showing any really visible signs of emotion. Possibly tearing of the eyes and a lump in the throat, but that’s all I noticed. I tried to cheer her up by making a reference to an inside joke our Richmond Crew[sup]TM[/sup] had about poutine. For some reason, that didn’t work… just because the joke involved production (a code word for something scatological) and poutine doesn’t mean it’s not funny! 
(I suspect my mom will be an emotional wreck at the airport and/or on the plane when coming home, because she’s leaving her baby and all that.)
So now madcow is gone, Space Lord and I aren’t going to miss her nagging, imitations of Mom, overly affectionate ways, etc. However, we will miss her at least somewhat, I think. (yes, even I will… who likes her brother maybe better than her sister 
) She’s only been gone a few hours now, and I don’t miss her already, but I imagine I will perhaps by this weekend. (when she’s not around to liven up everyone at church with her loud, hyper self) It’ll definitely be a change, that’s for sure. (especially around the area of Friday plans) But we will adjust to it sooner or later.
F_X
