Homeward Bound

I'm flying back to Ohio tomorrow for a week, to visit with family and friends. I go twice a year. I always look forward to these visits! When I moved 2500 miles away, I didn't realize how much I would miss my people, and how much I'd come to rely on their support and familiarity. Sometimes I think one of the reasons God brought me here was to open my eyes and heart to that.

Hubs went back with me once or twice at the beginning of our marriage, but hasn't been since. He tells me it's because he knows I have a better time without him--which is true. It wasn't all about him there, so he got irritable quickly and made the week uncomfortable for everybody. He managed to alienate nearly all of my friends with crass observations and unfavorable comparisons--when I was absent. It was a good 2 years before I was told that on his first visit, while I was in the restroom, he looked around one of our favorite local hangouts and remarked, "My R (daughter) wouldn't even walk IN this place."

So yes, we ALL have a better time without him! And we all know it's his loss.

I stay with my best friends, L&J. My first full day back is always spent with Mom & Dad. We catch up on stuff, show each other pictures, etc, and usually head up to the local little diner/pizza shop for lunch. It's a typical small-town hangout, with the other regulars who come in every day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, gossip, world problem-solving, a friendly word, or heated debate over chili and (sometimes) crackers or creamers tossed at each other. The waitresses are local girls (3 nieces now have worked there--1 still does while she gets her teaching degree, and one who already teaches fills in sometimes in the kitchen on weekends or over Christmas break). The waitresses give as good as they get and laughter is always on the menu! If someone doesn't show up for a day or two, people check up on them and make sure they're okay. It's probaby saved a life once or twice.

The rest of the week is spent meeting people for lunch or dinner, visiting my brothers and their families, stopping by the flower shop where I worked for 15 years before moving here, and catching up on everyone's news--births, deaths, who's moving where, who went where for vacation, who married, who got divorced, etc.

I meet up with friends from high school for a couple beers and chit chat about the people we graduated with, some scattered far (like me) and some raising their own kids in the houses THEY were raised in, keeping our small town alive, well and growing, and a good place to come back to.

One night is "Girls Night Out" with L and 2 other ladies. I'm proud to say I brought this group of friends together! We drink wine, eat pizza, and I bask in the much-needed atmosphere.

My family and friends rejuvenate me and remind me of who I am and where I came from, and how proud I am of that.

The Ohio winter reminds me why I like living in California!