It's Good to be Home

Seth and I had the most amazing time home last week in the Midwest. I was nervous and interested to see how it would be for me. We've been in NYC without heading home for 20 months (my grandma counted :), and quite frankly, our life here is worlds away from the life in the Midwest.

I was curious if, upon going back to the way we'd lived the over 20 years, we'd miss it. We'd want to move back home. I don't know how I ever thought that might happen... We definitely are no where ready to leave the lives we have in NYC. We are no where ready (and may NEVER be) to return to our home state.

I felt so weird while spending an evening with one of my best friends in our college town towards the beginning of the visit. It was quite unsettling and stressful. We had to drive everywhere. There weren't many people around. Everyone was the same (in a sense... at least no one was interesting like in the city). I went to Wal-Mart.... (that's enough to make me very miserable!!) And I just kept thinking about how they wasted all that space spreading everything out... I felt a bit of culture shock, which really is funny, considering I feel like we haven't been gone long, and we did spend so much time in that life before.

On another day, I visited the town I graduated from high school in, which is weird since a tornado wiped out a good portion of the town, including my high school, almost 2 years ago. As I was walking down the sidewalk, the only one, someone came out of their house and say hello to me. I did a double take, looking around to see who they were talking to, since I was sure I was the only one around. Turns out, it was me they were greeting. Why did she just say hi to me? Funny, how something I'd have expected a year and a half ago, weirded me out now.

Then there was the drive I had to make between my parents' home and Seth's parents' home. One hour and 15 minutes... No big deal. I commute at least that far to go one-way to work each day. Right. It was HORRIBLE! Twenty minutes in I was on my iphone, which isn't a good idea when you are in charge of driving a car! It was absolutely terrible. All I wanted was a subway, a bus, to walk... something other than being stuck in that car!

A part of me was afraid that I might no love NYC as much when I returned from being back in the "normal" world. That part of me had nothing to worry about.

This week, as I took in my city, I thought about how much I loved it. Even though I had to wait for 30 minutes at 34th street the other morning (making my commute almost 2 hours long) only to realize the train was running on the opposite platform... Even though the weather has been gross, first rain, then mushy, slushy snow, and now a good couple of inches of it... Even though people are rude, just as New Yorkers are (ha ha, our first day back we went to Starbucks and some woman was being Horrible to the barista... and all I could say was "I LOVE NY")... Even though I'm stuck smelling the stench of some subway rider or listening to some crackjob homeless guy ask for money... I LOVE NEW YORK CITY. (I love it more than my home-state. Sorry Midwest. I just do!)