Home Sweet home

We're home. We're home. We're home. I love traveling, but boy-oh-boy, do I LOVE being home. And even though it's still mid-August, my thoughts are turning to fall because a new year of classes is just around the corner. (This photo is from last fall- no pumpkins in these parts just yet :) Fall is our time of renewal around here. In additional to celebrating a new school year, it's the time of house-projects. Yesterday I realized that contrary to what I've assumed, our frantic domestic sprucing-up this time of year has nothing to do with a primal urge to tidy the space before winter "hibernation," but rather stems from coming home after a long absence.

After being gone for a month and a half, I see it all with a new, critical eye. All the things that need changing or repair disappear into the background of our daily lives after a while, but during the first few weeks home, they seem to be the only things I can see . Before we left, I had cleaned and organized the house. However, the first thing I did when I woke up was clean the fridge before it was filled with food again. Then came some other things that I hadn't gotten to before we left. Then I started de-cluttering the counters of knick-knacks that have been there since we moved in 3 years ago. Suddenly, I had no idea why I would want them there (JC asked me what took me so long- apparently they've been bugging him the whole time). Then I took out a pad and pen to start making notes of all the things that needed to be done- big and small. It's a pretty long list, but there's no deadline, other than doing as much as I can before they fade back into the background of complacency.

It's not perfect, that's for sure, but it's our home and I'm happy to be back in it.