2014/2015
Vol. 10

Finally Home

1994; Chesterfield, Missouri, USA

Sharon Lampros has been dancing since she was two years old. When she was eighteen years old, she decided she wanted to move to Kansas City to fulfill her dancing dream. Before she left, her dad told her that he didn’t want her to go quite yet. He wanted her to get a college degree before she started dancing professionally. Ignoring her father’s wishes, she left for Kansas City. Now she is returning home for the first time in six years.

Twenty-four-year-old Sharon Lampros drove down the street she had last driven down six years ago. She rolled into the tar driveway she had missed so much. Sharon had been dreaming about this day for years — the day she would finally get to see her family again. After years of traveling the United States, it was time. When she reached the front door, she hesitated. The last conversation she’d had with her father wasn’t exactly a great one. Sharon placed her shaky hand on the frozen doorknob and swung the door open.

Sharon was greeted with a loud “Welcome home!” from her four siblings. She couldn’t hold it back anymore. Tears streamed down her cheeks like a river as her siblings ran in for a hug. Next her mother arrived.

“Sharon. You’ve grown so much,” wailed her mother. Her family walked her into the kitchen. Standing behind the sink was her father. Sharon’s face stiffened. Her father walked briskly to the doorway.

“Sharon, come here. I want to talk to you,” he proclaimed, grabbing her hand and taking her to the library. Stiff as a board, she followed along.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he sniffled.

“I’ve missed you, too,” she replied.

“I know I wanted you to get a college degree before you left, but now . . .” He couldn’t continue.

“I’m so proud of you,” he belted out.

Sharon’s face softened. “You are?” she asked, shocked.

“You took your own path, followed your heart. That’s what every parent wants to say about their child.”

Proud. Her father was proud. Sharon and her father walked hand in hand back to the kitchen, where her younger siblings were waiting at the table with their plates in front of them.

“Wow! You must’ve really missed me to have actually waited to eat,” she smiled.

“Can you just sit so we can eat?” Bill puffed. Sharon grabbed her food and sat down at the head of the table, right next to her father. One after the other, the questions rolled in. After hours of stories, she fell asleep on the living room couch. Her father quietly tiptoed in and set a blanket over her.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” he whispered in her ear. You would never realize how big Sharon’s smile was unless you were sitting right there. Sharon sighed and let her eyes close slowly.

Sharon Lampros is my mother. Though I’ve heard this story too many times to count, it means more and more to me every time I hear it. My parents have always told me to follow my own path and let my heart lead me. That’s the way I’m going to choose to live out my life.

Lauren Bohlmann; Missouri, USA

This copyrighted story may be copied for limited classroom use or reprinted in an article about The Grannie Annie.

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