Coming home from Uni is a breath of fresh air. Home is really the one place where I feel like I can totally relax (this wasn’t the case back in high school though). Sure, there are a few drawbacks to being under my parent's roof again: namely, endless scrutiny, the lull of semi-suburban life, and the instant fear I feel when I recognize someone from high school at the grocery store.
But after spending months away from home, and not only spending all of 10 days at home over Christmas, I’m really starting to appreciate being in Newton again. I say this all the time, but I think my fondness for Home has something to do with the fact that I don’t have the ability to pop home for the weekend while at university like many of my friends do. Even so, I thought I would take note of my five favourite things about being at home so that maybe in a few weeks when I’m bored and fed up I can remember why I appreciate being here so much.
Home cooked meals
When it comes to coming home, it really is the simplest home-cooked meals that make me happy. Not that I don't cook homemade food at university, but there's something about it coming from my mom that makes it taste just right. I mean, it's a well-know fact that no one but your own mother makes the best roast chicken, right? And as much as I adore cooking, it's nice to be able to take a while off from having to go food shopping and fend for myself (gee, I'm sure my mom wishes she could say that).
Laughing with my family
My family's sense of humor is... strange, to say the least. You can ask Hayley, who came to visit about a week ago. I swear there was a moment where we were just sitting there laughing about something completely irrelevant for a good 5 minutes. Generally, our jokes revolve around a.) people mishearing the conversation and not realizing their mistake b.) repeating old, timeless stories of the past, or c.) lightly making fun of someone else at the table. In reality, it's my Nana who's keeping us all laughing most of the time. I mean, we were at a trendy restaurant over the weekend, and she snarkily commented that they were so young, hip and broke there that they couldn't afford electricity.
Running (and walking) my favorite routes
There is absolutely no shortage at all of running and walking routes in Edinburgh. I mean, if you walk five steps out the door, you're automatically going uphill. Walk another five steps you're in a national park and walk a few more paces and you're at the foot of a dormant volcano. That being said, I do love going back to my old stomping grounds in Newton to walk around our idyllic neighborhood lake and critiquing the renovations of local houses ("Can you believe she put up a fence like that? SO tacky!)
Going shopping with my mom
If you know me, you know J. Crew is my spiritual home. Sure, they might have a J. Crew and Anthropologie here and there in the U.K. but nothing compares to the stores in the U.S.- especially when it comes to the sales! Most of the time my mom and I just go shopping together to spend time together, and don't end up buying much at all (or anything). And although I've already had my fair share of dressing-room disasters already since being home, I'm looking forward to hitting the mall a few more times before I leave (and I have to get a graduation dress before I go back across the pond).
Having the freedom to drive
So I'm not known to be a very good driver. I'm not bad per se, but I'm definitely nervous and not confident. But last weekend I drove up to Portland on the highway (2 hours there, 2 hours back) and I think it was just the confidence boost I needed! I've never really appreciated the mobility of driving prior to now, but it is nice to be able to go where I want when I want (subject to having one of the "kid-friendly" cars around). I hope that this means that this summer, for the few weeks that I'll be home, I'll be hitting the beach more often and taking longer drives to cooler places. For now, though, I'll just stick to driving around Newton to grab some ice cream. Baby steps.
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