A Surprise Visit

On my way to Charlotte yesterday, it dawned on me that the majority of the drive was through South Carolina. I had just assumed it was through North Carolina before I left. Once I realize this, I thought to myself, "Why didn’t I contact my cousin Billy to see if he could meet up?" I hadn’t even considered seeing him because I was focused on going to North Carolina and knew that my cousin LaMarr was too far away in Raleigh. At one of my stops, I even looked up my cousin Billy’s address. I couldn’t believe he was only 45 minutes from Doug‘s hotel. I started panic texting him right away to let him know that I had screwed up. I hadn’t given him much lead time, but that I was really hoping to see him. I heard back from Billy right away that he was busy last night with class. I was bummed but said "Hey, if you’re free for breakfast, I’ll be there."

Thankfully, Billy was free this morning. He even drove the 45 minutes to Charlotte to meet me at First Watch near our hotel. He brought his girlfriend so I could meet her for the first time as well, and we spent the next two hours catching up just like we had seen each other last week. It was so much fun, and I was so thankful for his visit. They really wanted to see Doug, but we had to get on the road as soon as the conference was over so that we can make it to Brett‘s tonight. They understood and since I found out how easy it was to drive up to see him or meet him halfway in Savannah, we made plans to do it again sooner rather than later.

On the drive to Indiana, I sent this picture to my mom, Aunt Jan, and Aunt Vicky along with the message "I hope that your breakfast partner was as awesome as mine." They were absolutely flabbergasted. They couldn’t believe it and were so happy that the two of us could meet. Billy never had any siblings and I was an only child after the age of eight. The time we spent together in our youth is so precious to both of us. I don't know if I appreciated it then, but I am incredibly thankful for that relationship now.