Trip Summary

Missed: 
Ollie and Humphrey
the goldfish
my little garden; a few (but not all) of the tomatoes
taking a shower of consistent water temperature
driving my Subaru
some pen pal correspondence from little ones to little ones (we'll get right back to you!)

Did Not Miss: 
95 degrees
mildew
fire ants
driving around in a hot car with kids whining about the hot car
nasty over-chlorinated drinking water

Sorry to have Missed: 
the mimosas in full bloom

Was glad to have Missed:
weather that, had we traveled a day later, would have made for an irksome flight home

Have not Missed, but might have liked to Miss:
C-130s buzzing our house tomorrow to spray for mosquitoes; last year this took 5 years off my life, I swear. Hopefully the advance notice will prevent the heart attack triggered by gigantic aircraft skimming the treetops unexpectedly at bathtime.

Continuing to Miss:
my husband, but not for too much longer (we hope)

Seem to be Missing: 
any interesting or appealing dinner menu ideas

Will Not Miss:
searching for (and often finding) deer ticks on my kids each night

Am Most Definitely Missing:
moss
mountain laurels in bloom
peonies
strawberries from the garden
shade, and hills
big trees
creaky stairs
someone else doing the cooking
turning the kids loose outside; watching them discover all the things I loved growing up
bluebirds (any birds)
small town (home town) charm; little stores
endless conversation with my mom - over breakfast, late at night, and in between
hearing the kids exclaim "Pa!" when my dad got home from work each night
company
home

***

Each time we make a trip to my parents house (which has only been twice in the last 18 months - I guess three times if you count that we stayed there for a few weeks before moving) it launches me into all sorts of deep thinking about the meaning of home, qualities of a house, qualities of a town, what it means to belong somewhere, wondering why such loving families need live so far away (or, more accurately, why do we live so far from them), where I would live if we could choose, what's next for my family, what's next for my parents, how many more years will there be for my kids to make memories in the house I grew up in, why things change, how things stay the same, what is important, what is not.

And all of that is really hard to turn into a blog post without getting all sappy or predictably nostalgic. I have never been able to make it work. Sometimes home seems better posted in images, like I did a week or so ago.  Sometimes all the bumping and rattling in my head can only be made into a list (or a run-on sentence).  None of this is super heavy or anything, it's just thinking for the pleasure of thinking (something my mom and I do really well together)... trying to "figure out the perfect system," as we often say.

I don't really know the answers at all, I just know that it was a truly wonderful trip.