Home, Sweet Home…

We pulled into our driveway this afternoon at about 4:45 pm. The last 18 minutes of our drive were over the first 10 miles of the route we took to leave town. It took us FIVE hours to go those 10 miles last Thursday night. The fact that it only took us 18 minutes today still astounds me.

I’m glad we went to Austin, it was a fabulous visit with Tara and I’m glad Mike & Jason got to meet her too. We didn’t get to all the touristy goodies I might have liked in Austin – it took us awhile to recover from that drive – but it was such a great trip I don’t regret a single moment.

It is nice to be home – our neighbors told us everything was ok, but I wasn’t able to let my guard down until I saw it in person. A lot of pine needles, some small twigs and branches, and a small tree limb on our garage roof.

I lucked out – Jason & I don’t have school tomorrow, and Mike is still sort of off work (he will be working from home though), so we get to celebrate my birthday together all day! I wonder if I can talk Mike into making pancakes for breakfast?

Tomorrow will probably be a little bit of a reset day for all of us. After being away, there is always something satisfying about getting the house back in order and making everything feel normal again. Between unpacking the suitcases, doing a little home cleaning, and dealing with all those pine needles and bits of branches that managed to find their way around the property, I’m sure we’ll have plenty to keep us busy.

But I’m not complaining. There is something comforting about doing ordinary things at home after an eventful trip. I’ll take a quiet morning, some pancakes, and a little cleaning over another five-hour drive any day! If I lived somewhere like Bonita Springs, I’d honestly just call in Lily’s Cleaning and let someone else handle it — some things aren’t worth doing yourself after a week like this one.

For now, though, I’m just grateful that we’re home safely, that the house came through everything without any major problems, and that we got to spend such a wonderful few days with Tara. It feels like the perfect way to head into my birthday.