Full Circle

It's hard for me not to think about the fact that soon I'll be heading home-- back to the place where this journey began eight months ago.  When I left Delaware, I had no idea where the winds would take me, nor did I know how long the journey was to last.  I went to Europe, the Middle East (Asia), and Africa.  I visited Germany, Holland, Czech, Austria, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and South Africa.  It's been an amazing time!

On May 10th, I'll board a plane, and seventeen hours later, I will touch down in New York City's JFK airport.  My journey will not be over once I land, as I'll have to board a "Chinatown Bus" and trek another three hours to Delaware (such are the pains of a gal trying to save a buck.  Flying into Philadelphia would have been so much easier, but just not as cheap).


The question I keep getting from friends and acquaintances alike it, "Are you excited to be going home?"  My initial response is no.  I am not homesick, nor do I do not miss the United States.  I'm having too grand of an adventure to want to go home.  Additionally, going home for me means returning to my parent's house in the suburbs (since I'm homeless), where I lack transportation (I don't have a car), have very few friends (they all moved away eons ago), and no prospects at work (not much modeling going on in Delaware!).  It's not much to look forward to.


But, my answer needs to be a little more nuanced than that.  You see, my very best friend in the world also happens to live with my parents (my twin sis, Erin).  I adore my parents, and there was a time in my life where they probably thought they'd never see me go (As a child, I once famously declared, "When I grow up, I'm going to marry Mom and Daddy, so I can live with them forever!").  I miss my sewing machine, and my dressform, and the myriad of projects I have sitting at home waiting for me to complete.  I miss shopping for vintage clothes, and the little shop I set up on Etsy to sell some of my finds.  I miss my violin.  I miss the promise of potential friendships that have never been permitted to develop due to my lengthy absences (such as with Randy and Becca and Heidi and others).  I look forward to using a desktop computer again, with a large monitor, and with a scanner and printer attached.  I look forward to seeing my closet full of clothes that will appear as new to me (Can you imagine?  I've been wearing the same few clothes for almost eight months?  I've lived out of a suitcase with three pairs of shoes, two pairs of jeans, and a handful of dresses.)  I hear Netflix calling my name, and I can't wait for my mom's southern cooking and sweet tea.  And I miss late afternoon naps on my parent's couch with three of my best friends curled up next to me (as pictured above.  A fourth, Lillie, isn't pictured, as she tends to be Miss Independent, but she's welcome to join the slumber party as well!). Finally, I'm looking forward to quality time spent with a precocious and sometimes bratty niece who is very dear to my heart.


Am I excited to be going home?  I guess I am.  But I'm sure gonna miss it here!


XOXO,