Leaving Missouri

There are things about being in Missouri that are stressful, but, nonetheless, it's still home.  Which makes it hard to leave.  I have realized that, for me, home isn't necessarily a location but is more a group of people.  I got to see most of those people this visit.

Christmas was spent with my family.  We did minimal presents this year, which I prefer.  Gifts, expecially excessive ones, often make me uncomfortable, and given my current goal of simplifying my life and posessions (funny how moving 1500 miles will make you realize all the crap in your life you don't need), I didn't really need anything.  Except pants.  I always need pants.

I got some really warm socks, which I did need (man, am I old or what?), a book, tic-tacs (yay!), tea, and money for, you guessed it, pants.  I spent the pants money, and somehow my pants are smaller than previously.  Not sure how or why, but I'm excited about it anyway.  All kinds of interesting theories for another day.

New Years was spent with Dugan, Ashley, and Kyle--some of my favorite people on the planet.  There are no words that will make any of what happened make sense to anyone else, per the norm.  Food, games, fun.  Lots of talking.  And actually, this is what made me homesick the most.

The rest of the time was spent catching minutes with friends, lunch with Cristin and Kyle, dinner with Kristen, lunch with Tamara, dinner with Stephen and Carlyle, helping as best as I can at home, spending precious minutes with my ornery nephew, and laughing with my sister.  And forcing tea on everyone in the vicinity.

But I'm looking forward to seeing people in Boston again too, some of which are becoming a part of home.  Boston is stressful in a different way, and I'm still not quite sure how I got there.  So I'm getting on a plane and leaving home to head to home, when neither is really home.  Sometimes it's very confusing.

There was an end to this, but I seem to have forgotten what it was going to be.  I do that a lot lately.