Our Visit From Anders

Hey Everyone,

What a nice, if somewhat bittersweet weekend we had. Some of you may remember a few year back, 12 to be exact, Mark's cousin Anders came to spend the summer with us. It was one of the nicest summers of my life. Sometimes crazy and hectic, other times relaxed and peaceful. Anders was 18 during the summer he was here, and turned 19 the day before he left. We grew so attached to him and cried like babies when it was time for him to go home. A couple of weeks ago, Mark got an email from Anders saying he was going to be in NY on business and wanted to come up to Boston to see us. The excitement that ran through the family was like a lightening bolt. We were so excited and anxious to see our "Swedish Boy." We hadn't seen him since that long ago summer.

Mark, Cora and I drove to the train station to pick him up about noon on Friday. The rain was relentless but as our boy stepped out of the train station, with a big smile on his face, it didn't matter if it was raining, sleeting or snowing, our Anders was "home" if only for 24 short hours. I have to say, 12 years is a long time to not have seen someone especially, when they were only 18 and now, a full grown man of 30 years. The face was exactly the same with the addition of a beard and mustache. His hair was longer than the short spikey hair he used to wear and he grew taller too, reaching a very tall 6 ft. 5 inches. Other than that, he was the same sweet, kind and happy Anders with the sense of humor, we came to love so much.

We did a couple of errands and then spent the rest of the day at our house, relaxing and catching up on all the missed years. He told us all about his job that has him traveling all over the world as an interior store buyer for H&M clothing. About his girlfriend Emma, and all about the other members of his family. Mom Annika, who is actually Mark's first cousin, his dad, and his brother Niklas and his wife and children. Later in the evening, the whole family gathered to see Anders and to share old stories of the summer of '97. We had so many laughs imitating his Swedish accent, and commenting on the amount of hair he had on his chest. Then as the photo albums came out, one picture in particular of Anders lying on the beach, completely bare chested made him laugh out loud and exclaim, "MY GOD, there's not a hair on my body." LOL. After the gang left that evening, we stayed up late into the night or should I say, early into the morning, talking and talking some more. We were sad that he had to catch a train back to NY by 9:40 the next morning and would have to leave just after breakfast. The visit was way too short and I know even he felt a heap of regret in having to leave so soon. After he left, the rest of the day seemed kind of empty. It was gray outside and none of us felt like doing anything but laying around. We were all tired from being up late, and sad that our Swedish boy had gone home.

Anders, if you ever get a chance to read this, we miss you and can't wait for your next visit. Come back soon, your American family is waiting for you.