Surprise Chattanooga!

So, the whole Maui, Hawaii travel was a big surprise for my mom and dad. Allan and I had planned it since September to surprise Mom and Dad for Thanksgiving. So, I took a hellacious flight from SFO at 11:30pm on Wednesday night, with a 2 hours layover in Atlanta the next morning, continuing on up to Chattanooga, arriving at 9:30am. I called Allan, and he was already on his way to pick me up. I met him outside, and we rushed back to the house, and Allan called Mom to tell him to wait before they go pick up our grandparents. So, they said ok. So, Allan pulled up in the driveway, went into the kitchen, and I got out into the garage. I text messaged them saying, “Happy Thanksgiving, have room for one more?” As Mom got the message, Allan opened the door, and I came in, and she was looking at the cell phone reading the message out loud. She then said, “What’s that mean?! You know he’s not here?!” and then she looked up and I was there! It was a perfectly executed surprise. Dad had been holding some type of cord, and dropped it straight on the floor as we all hugged. Such a great surprise and something we’ll always remember. Then Dad went to go pick up the grandparents, and I felt horrible. I had gotten something from the plane, or just the fact of having traveled so long with no sleep, but I was having sinus congestion, body aches, and a crick in my neck. Not the best condition. When the grandparents arrived, I was sitting in the living room. Papa made his way with his wheeled-walker through the living room, looking around the left side of the room first, where a portrait of myself is framed, and he said, “Well look, there’s Ben just a grinning at me”. He still hadn’t seen me, so I said, “I sure am grinning, Papa”! It was such a shock to everyone that I was there, so it made the visit very fun. I felt much better the afternoon of Friday, and we went to Huntsville to see Allan’s house. It’s gorgeous, and quite accomplishing of him to have such a sweet pad so early in life. I can only wonder when will I find a home of my own. . .and where in the world will it be! So this Thanksgiving was great, and hopefully my family will finally see where I live in San Francisco this spring…