next stop - Denver

So wow, not even two weeks in to my trip and I feel like I have found a bigger part of me. And it's so simple all I am doing is spending time with family. If only other things were so simple.

Arriving in Denver was confusing to say the least. I had talked to my first cousin who lives there the night I left Vancouver, telling her I would be there in the next couple of weeks. It was refreshing speaking with her because she, unlike a lot of my family members, likes to talk. I could tell her and I both were looking forward to meeting each other for the first time.

When I was in Pilot Hill I called her to tell her Denver was my next stop, she was surprised and said she wasn't expecting me that early, I told her I didn't have to stop in Denver as I do not expect family members to drop their lives for me as I make my way through the borders of america. She said,

'call me when I get there' we hung up with an awkwardness that left a bad taste in my mouth.

Does that mean she wants me to stop? Does that mean she will see if she is free once I call, but she might not be?

The train ride from Sacramento to Denver was amazing, but as I approached Denver and it was night time, I became nervous. I left her a message stating my train was arriving at 7:15 and to please call me back so I know whether I am staying or going as I did not want to be stuck in a city I didn't know at night. When I didn't hear from her by 6:30pm I informed the conductor that I might not being staying in Denver and asked if I had time in Denver to run out and buy a ticket to continue on to Chicago. He said there was plenty of time and that he would keep an eye out for me.

When we pulled in to Denver, I still hadn't heard from my cousin, so I ran out to buy my ticket to Chicago. Just enough time to run and come back on the train. As I sat down, I thought I heard my name, I looked around and thought perhaps it was a slight auditory hallucination. 5 Seconds later I see the conductor standing above me asking me if my name was _____________, I looked up and saw my cousin whom I have never met before standing there with her arms crossed, all she said was,

'you need to be more patient'

I didn't say anything, I said hello, it was kind of an embarrassing moment as the conductor helped me pull my luggage from above and my cousin sucking her lips at me.

We had to hurry as the train was pulling out in less than a minute and trust me, they don't wait.

My cousin was shaking her head talking about patience, we got to some other amtrak employees and they were asking my cousin,

'is this her?' she was like

'yep'

she was walking ahead of me the whole time, then I was trying to explain to her that I had called and didn't hear from her and she was explaining to me that she had asked me to call her when I got in, I told her that I did call her earlier and that I had concerns about being stranded in a city at night, then she went on telling me she wouldn't do that to me I was family and how she left an hour early to be there for me and then I told her, no she needed to listen to me and arms were flailing, heads were shaking, there were tsks, moans, darting eyes, side glances, grimaces, raised voices all the way to her car.

When we got in her car, we were silent, she was driving, I was a passenger. Two strangers, who are family sitting there beside one another in silence.

Then we both started laughing, we were making fun of each other and how we were trying to prove our points, we were both like 'wow' I guess both of us are strong women, it's a McDaniel trait.

We laughed for the whole night, it was a holiday the next day so she had the day off.

We spent the whole day together talking about relationships, family, what we have been through, our likes and dislikes, listening to music, had a picnic in the park. I was expecting Denver to have snow and be freezing, but I had my tanktop on that day walking around.

She told me lots of stories of growing up with Grandma and Grandpa 'cause she was raised by them.

Let me tell you this, it brings tears to my eyes to have met her. She is family. Straight up. I can see parts of myself in her, she was talking about how much I am like my Dad, his mannerisms, they way I talk, how I look.

I don't think I have ever had a true mentor in my life. Someone who has been through similar things in my life, and now is older. She has been through a lot and she only has positive things to say about everything, but she is REAL. Her and I could talk about religion, politics, family, relationships, racism and be on the same page. She has so much energy and I feel like I have learned so much about myself and let me tell you, I am so happy to have met her.

She is my cousin, she is old enough to be my mother, but looks young enough to be me sister.

I will never forget her energy, her thoughts, her love and the day we shared together.

We keepin' in touch fo sho.

Much love