There's an Amy-Shaped Hole in My Afternoon

Becky here, sister of Amy. This is my first ever guest post on Matron Down Under. I wonder why I've never posted on here before. Hmmm? Maybe because I've NEVER BEEN INVITED. But now I'm here and there's nothing Amy can do about it, because she's on a plane back to Sydney. Or first to LA and then to Sydney. She left in a flurry of Target bags. I am trying to be brave about it.

What you see in this picture is only a fraction of the stuff she managed to pack. That's the second of two bags. I think she brought one suitcase entirely empty, and then filled it with:

• Liberty of London for Target dress, girl's dress, man's shirt and boxers, and two pillows
• Two yards of Ikea fabric
• Two jars of tomato basil soup from La Madeleine
• Tons of baby clothes from Gymboree and Kohl's
• Stuff she took from me while cleaning out my closet
• Crest Vivid White Toothpaste
• Antique milk glass vase from a store in North Carolina
• New exercise clothes bought at TJ Maxx
• Girl hand-me-downs from Laura
• KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce

I said, "I thought y'all had a lifetime supply of barbecue sauce from your last trip home." She said that they'd used it all. I said, "You guys really like to barbecue," and she was all, "It's Australia!"

Another Amy anecdote: Last night we all went to eat at a pizza place, and as the hostess seated us, we were all kind of complaining about how cold it was in there. The hostess said she'd see what she could do, and Amy said, as the hostess left, "I promise you, we aren't really this annoying." I said, "Well we weren't until you said that." She whipped around and hissed, "It's disarming." I started laughing, which ticked her off more, but I just thought it was funny that she had that specific defense ready. People almost never describe themselves as "disarming." That is some heads-up baseball.

And she was right of course. You know, sisters.

I didn't boohoo after she left, because as I told her, I was just so glad she got to come and stay as long as she did. And I am so filled with appreciation for Jason and his mom, who handled the kids all this time. We had a great visit. In addition to cooking, child care, and seeing me through the first two weeks of my chemotherapy (which went really well), she also cleaned and organized my two linen closets, cleaned out Matt's and my closet, did several craft projects, and painted a table.

She also shopped a prodigious amount. I miss her so much already!

I just wanted to pop in and say that she'll be back in the blogging saddle soon, after she flies over all those thousands of miles of ocean. XOXOXO--Becky