I stared out the window of the plane watching the sun start to peek up through the clouds. While enjoying the silent flight to Washington D.C., I woke my dad up when the plane started to land.
After the plane landed, we started walking to find my grandpa. The car ride to the hospital was quiet except for short conversations. He dropped us off and left to go see my grandma.
We walked through the doors, and we were welcomed by complete silence except you could hear the air conditioning running through the building. We quickly asked the receptionist where the room was and quickly headed up to the sixth floor. Visiting hours weren’t for another 30 minutes but they let us go through. Walking through the quiet hallways all you could hear were our feet hitting the floor, echoing through the long hallways. Finally, we reached her door and knocked.
A faint, “Come in,” was heard through the door before we entered. Right when we walked in, they were there. My aunt and uncle, leaning over the reason I woke up at 4 am and caught a plane to D.C. There she was… my Aunt and Uncle’s first child and my first cousin.
“Do you want to hold Sweet Pea?” my Aunt asked me sweetly. I nodded my head yes and slowly walked towards the bed. Once she was in my arms, a warm feeling spread through my body, and I felt her stir a little in her sleep. I couldn’t believe it I was holding my first cousin, my Aunt’s first child. I held her for awhile before I let my dad hold her.
After an hour of holding her, my grandparents came in and also got to hold her. We, later on, went downstairs and were crowded with people waiting for Panera. When we finally headed up, everyone took a nap. I volunteered to hold sweet pea so my Aunt could sleep. For an hour and a half, she just slept in my arms. I loved the feeling of her in my arms, her turning around every now and then, her fingers always trying to hold onto my right index finger. I loved everything about her.
Doctors and nurses kept coming in to check on her and my Aunt. Before I knew it, we were ordering takeout to the hospital and watching Star Wars all crowded in a tiny hospital room. We were pulling chairs into the room from the hallway so we all could be together. After the movie, I noticed it was around time for me and my dad to go back to the airport to see my mom and sisters. After saying goodbye to my Aunt and Uncle, and little baby sweetpea, and promising we would visit soon, we headed to the airport where I said goodbye to my grandparents.
Boarding the plane, I was thinking about what an amazing time I had today. We landed before I even knew. Walking out of the airport, I remembered seeing my cousins eyes, my aunt and uncle together, my grandparents together, my entire family happily talking together, and I knew that today was one of my favorite memories.