Home again - if only briefly

I was supposed to have a 24 hour layover in Amsterdam on my return from Cape Town (as I did on the way there). However, I didn't see much point in bumming around and I missed my family, so I got on an earlier flight home and had only 3 hours layover instead. The downside of that is that my mom had to pick me up 1.5 hours from her house at nearly midnight. My sister and her drove out together - they were brave! They said I recovered faster the next day than they did from staying up late - and I had nearly 30 hours of travel plus jet lag to contend with! My sister was thoughtful and brought me snacks for the car ride. I had so much to gossip with them about - I hadn't spoken to anyone on the phone the whole time I was away. I was glad to be home a day early.

In the 3 days I was home I hung out with a friend I had made in North Carolina, got my hair dyed back to brown (in an effort to cut a cost out of my budget in Oregon - blond is expensive to maintain!), sent some of my stuff to Oregon in boxes to make more room in the car, and packed up my stuff. I also spent quality time with family, including playing with my nephew and swimming in the pool with mom. We found out that afternoon that my dog can't stand to see me go underwater - she valiantly jumped the fence barking her head off to try to rescue me. She can not go in the pool though - so mom had to spring into action to catch her before her claws could go near the pool liner! I missed my pookey-girl so much while I was in Africa... She wouldn't leave my side after I returned! I didn't want her to, either.

It was both stressful and exciting to get ready for the move. My heart was still in Cape Town, and I was tired from traveling. It was also surreal to know that I had a home of my own waiting for me in Oregon. My first home - MY first home! The long drive to the west coast was not something I was looking forward to - not with a dog and 3 cats in the car. I also had a mixed feeling of both leaving a place that had come to feel like home, and how great it was to be near family for the summer, but also a feeling that I didn't belong in Hickory and the whole town seemed foreign to me after getting acclimated with Cape Town. Nothing seemed right anymore - not the fixtures on public restroom stall doors, or the road signs, or all the little things that I had gotten used to abroad. Plus I kept trying to drive on the left hand side of the road - though I didn't drive in Cape Town I had become used to the feel of being on the left!

I love my family and am glad to have had the time to spend with them this summer. It was now time to start my new life in Oregon though, and I had to do it, no matter how overwhelming everything felt.