How to Come Home

We spent part of the weekend at my parents' lakehouse, sans my parents.  It was, actually, very  funny to call my mom and tell her all about her new house.  She's only spent 15 minutes in it.  So now that I've spent two nights there, I'm the connoisseur.  Scary.

Then we rushed back home, for Chris to make it to church, and I walked in with that feeling of, "Is it ever worth going away, when coming home takes so much work?"  So I got busy.  Here's how to come home without letting it make you crazy or destroy your house:

We unloaded the car as we came in, putting everything away right away, except the contents of the two small suitcases.  Then I Febrezed the inside of my van and threw away all the McDonald's trash.  There's nothing like getting in the car and realizing you left a sippy cup of milk in it.  Blech.  I hate unloading the car, but it only takes a few minutes, and it's better than leaving it for later.

After that, I put Addie down, sent the boys to play Legos for roomtime, took a bath with a book, and took a nap.  I highly recommend it, if you can squeeze it in.  I got very little sleep while I was gone, and everything in life feels better after a little alone time and a nap.

Then I got busy for the second time:  spaghetti soup on the stove, and artisan bread and pumpkin pie in the oven.  None of them takes much time or odd ingredients, so they're great to make the house smell good after a trip away, and I don't have to run to the store.  After a weekend of eating out, it's nice to sit down to real food, especially food that doesn't take much effort.  

I didn't do anything today except that.  No laundry, no bills, no cleaning.  Today was just about getting back into the house, cleaning out the car, and eating comfort food.  Tomorrow I'll unpack and plan out the next week.  It's a slow finish to a leisurely trip.  And did I mention there's a pumpkin pie sitting in my kitchen window, waiting for me?

Now it's 9 p.m., and (after I eat some pie), I'm crawling off to bed early.  That's the best part of coming home:  sleeping in my own bed.  It's always good to be home.