After the hellacious moving experience that Lindsey described in our last blog post, we took a tour of Roanoke and Richmond, VA to visit our respective families.
First stop: Roanoke. After enduring the thrilling (that’s sarcasm, by the way) drive down 66 and I-81 we made it to Roanoke around 3:00 AM on December 18th. Naturally the whole family was still up and about, ready to greet us as soon as we walked through the door. Unlike we had initially planned, we didn’t go to sleep the moment we arrived, instead we decided to brave another hour or so of the early morning hours to recount the hectic week and moving day Lindsey and I had just conquered. Eventually we made it to bed with the promise that we could sleep in until dinnertime the following day.
If you’ve never been to the Key household in Roanoke during the Christmas holidays then you’re missing out. My mother, Nora, always goes all-out with the Christmas decorations and holiday cooking for the whole family. I’m pretty sure that she still makes the same amount of food for the four of us (now five including Lindsey!) as she does with the whole extended family in town. I’m still not sure whether or not the time with family seemed to fly by because I was having such a good time the whole week, or if it was just because I was on a perpetual sugar high from all the cookies, pies and assorted holiday treats! I’m pretty sure it was a little bit of both.
It wouldn’t be a vacation at home with the family if Jordan (my younger brother for those who may not know) and I didn’t spend at least half of our time, and all of our evenings after 1 AM, playing video games or watching old movies. True to form, I bought him a copy of the new Elder Scrolls Xbox game for Christmas, which I gave to him four days early, so we could spend some quality “bro-hours” down in the basement trying to save the world (again) from dragons, tyrants, warlords and other assorted mythical creatures. Ah, Christmas.
To cap off the great week at home, we were able to spend the first few days in Roanoke enjoying the company of my longest-standing friend, Lianne, and her new husband Devin who just moved up to Roanoke from Florida/North Carolina. Lianne and I have known each other since we were both in diapers and our mothers would walk us to each other’s houses down in West Palm Beach. Now we’re both married, moving, and all grown up! I’m sure our parents have exchanged more than a few “it seems like it was only yesterday…” moments in the past few months.
Needless to say the time with family was much needed and greatly appreciated. Words could never express how much they all mean to me, or how much I’ll miss them while we’re over in Zurich, but just like the Christmas holidays, family will always be there, whether in person or over the phone, to share memories, laughter, tears, and special moments. Some things never change…
Second Stop: Richmond. After leaving Roanoke early December 25th, Lindsey and I made the trek to Richmond, VA to visit with her family before our eventual trip back up to DC for our flight.
Over the course of several generations the Arpaia clan (Arpaia is Lindsey’s family name on her mother’s side) has managed to live and work all in the greater Richmond area. This would include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, bothers and sisters all living in greater Richmond. That being the case, every holiday is a large family gathering. In fact, my experience has shown me that it doesn’t even take a holiday to bring their family together – big family meals and outings are just how they like it!
This past week while we were in Richmond, Lindsey’s family showed, yet again, their propensity for a good family gathering. It is their tradition to host a meal for the extended family on Christmas Day, so it came as no surprise that there were plans already established for the night of our arrival. We had an inkling that the family was planning something to celebrate our wedding the previous month, as well as our imminent departure to the land of chocolate and fine watches; but when we arrived at Lindsey’s Aunt Denise’s home for dinner we were greeted by a crowd of about 30 friends and family there to celebrate a belated wedding “reception” – cake and all. What a surprise! It was all very heartwarming that they had gone through the trouble to plan such a gathering, and what made it even more special was the fact that we were able to spend time with the whole family all at once.
After the reception Lindsey and I retired to April and James’ new apartment (Lindsey’s cousin and her new husband) to watch movies with the gaggle of cousins – ages 11 to 27. As the night wound down there were some tearful goodbyes mixed in with plenty of well wishes as we departed back to Lindsey’s parent’s house.
The remainder of the time in Richmond was spent seeing friends and preparing for our last days in the United States (at least for the time being!). As with our time in Roanoke, there was never any shortage of good food and good cheer. Lindsey and I left for Dulles International Airport before dawn on the 28th knowing that the love and support of our families went with us on our journey overseas.
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