Move #1: February 10th, 1996 ~ San Jose, CA to Cary, NC
"Attention, everyone. This is your captain speaking. We will be taking off for RDU Airport shortly…."
Linda adjusted her seat belt and did one last check. One triplet each on either side of her in cribs strapped into the plane seats. The third was in the row next to her, between her sister and 6-year old niece, Bridget. Her sister, Mary, gave her a thumbs up. A tap on Linda's shoulder made her turn around to her mother, Ronnie.
"Need me to hold one of them?"
"Patrick and Gregory are asleep, Mom. Maybe once we're airborne."
"Matthew?"
"Bridgie's playing with him." Linda nodded to her niece, who was currently engaging her youngest and smallest son in a game of Peek-a-Boo. The baby was giggling hysterically. Linda smiled sadly in their direction. And to think we came this close to losing him…she thought.
The plane soon took off. Linda started to relax. Outnumbering 14-month-old triplets 4 to 3 with her mom, sister and niece had turned out to be brilliant idea. Bridget did not even complain about helping during the long flight. Though, she had an annoying habit of switching the overhead seat lights on and off. Mary eventually snapped her out of it.
After 5 grueling hours, the plane touched down in the family's new home. Well, it wasn't exactly their new home, Raleigh. Their house would be in the suburbs of a town called Cary, about 20 minutes drive away. As the family drove to the neighborhood, Linda placed a call to her husband.
"Duke? Where are you?"
"Dad and I are filling up at a gas station just outside of Nashville. We're a few miles from the North Carolina border. We'll gun it to you guys and should be there by tonight."
It had been Duke's idea to go on a cross-country trip with his dad, Bob, driving the moving van. It was at least a better plan than the one Bob had originally concocted - what it was, Linda couldn't remember, only that it had been completely ridiculous. Her father-in-law had a tendency to always want to have an answer for everything and have everything under control. Must be a West Point, Army complex or something she thought.
They got to the neighborhood and met the next-door neighbors, who had two kids of their own and were extremely nice. Just as the rental car had been unloaded with all their luggage, dusk brought Duke, Bob and the moving van with it. Linda and her family carried the triplets inside, planning to tackle what was in the moving van the next day. Linda looked about her as she closed the door. It was a nice place to call home - and it would be for the next 20 years.