An Historic Moment

Sofia is coming tomorrow!!  Yes, Sofia with an "f".  My sister!  She's coming!  This is a momentous moment, you don't even know!!  So I am going to tell you:

Since I was 16, eleven long/short years ago, I have travelled to Europe on several occasions and spent long stretches of time here.  

A brief CV of my European experience, partially because I want to brag a bit, but also to humble myself, since it doesn't look all that impressively long when written out in full:

2001-2002 lived in the netherlands, visited denmark, luxembourg, and germany

summer 2005 summer school in england and visit to the netherlands

spring semester 2006 lived in florence, visited finland, visited the netherlands

2008-2009 served a mission in germany

now, summer 2012 lived in paris, visited the netherlands, will walk spain, visit london and holland again 

= 38 months total, or 3 years and 2 months of my 27 years

Sofia was super jealous, which, to be painfully honest, made me feel pretty special.  She, on the other hand, could write a similar CV of her American experiences.  She's driven across the country more times than I can remember and greyhounded it once as well.  

We've both had our fair share of adventures.

But the momentousness of this moment is wrapped up in the fact that I've always been alone over here. Alone, as in: none of my nuclear family has ever made the trip with me.  Dad has threatened to join me in the Netherlands a couple times, but it's never worked out.  Mom was thinking about coming to get me from my mission, but that didn't happen.  They were both going to walk the last weeks of my pilgrimage with me but decided to use the money elsewhere.  Which makes complete sense, and I don't begrudge them those decisions.

What I'm trying to say is that my two worlds just don't collide.

I cried a lot the summer I got back from the Netherlands.  I was processing the whole "change happens, people leave people behind, some things end up feeling like it was all a dream" feeling.  And I thought back then that if I could just bring my family to see my Dutch life, I wouldn't feel so divided.  

Now, ten years later, I've come and gone from lots of places.  Change still feels eerie, but I'm used to it.  I've loved and left many people, some of whom I may never see again, but as bosom companions they never really leave me.  I've gone back to the Netherlands and made sure that the people and places I knew there weren't just a dream.  Wandering in foreign places all alone is just the life of a Pilgrim, and I have come to cherish the solitude and independence of my Winged self.

Now, ten years later, Sofia is coming to my inner sanctum.  I will show her the important places of my and our family's past, and we will explore new paths together.  I can feel in my heart the possibility of feeling slightly sad that My Europe will disappear, but that feeling is happily overshadowed with my excitement.  This is the moment.  My two worlds are melding.  My wings will become less of a European phenomenon and more a part of my whole self, American roots and all.  I'll touch the ground and the clouds at the same time.  We'll do it together.