Home Sweet Home

The cold air hit me as soon as I stepped off the plane. Yes, the chilly gust felt like MI, but it also smelled like MI. Like brown leaves and wet dirt. Like cars running and hamburgers grilling. Ahhhh.
It's been too long since I'd been home - over 4 months.
It was strange to overhear and understand nearly all the conversations around me. In fact, it was kind of annoying how loudly some people were talking. I hadn't realized, until then, how much background noise my brain had simply been ignoring. It was strange to sit and stand next to people without striking up a small talk conversation. In fact, it was kind of annoying how rude some yankees are! I mean, I could finally carry on my half of the conversation without sounding infantile, and no one wanted to talk with me! It was strange to have space between cars and enough time to accellerate. It was strange to turn on the radio and understand what was being said. It was wierd to see someone else's stuff in my bathroom, and in my fridge.
It was striking how much I'd missed. I didn't know all the songs on the radio or all the ads on the side of the road. I hadn't realized all the leaves were off the trees and on the ground. I'd missed election chit-chat and halloween candy. We'd collected mail from July; messages that no longer really applied.
But mostly, it was great. It was great to see my kids and give them hugs and take their pictures and laugh at their jokes. Even though it was hard to see them do a play without my help, it was kinda great to see (at least imho) how much we had made a difference in the drama department and a few kids' lives. It was great to see my family's faces and their new houses. It was great to give giant hugs and really meet my new niece. It was fantastic to collect new library books and new clothes and more makeup and pickles and hairspray and supplies for the library and canned pumpkin.
And it was very strange to come home again, to say good-bye again, to call this country, this house "home". It was wierd to sleep alone on the plane and think again about lesson plans and worry about traffic.
The vacation was too short, but I'm still glad I went. It's hard to see what I'm missing, but also great to remind myself of what I have to return to.