Home

"Where we love is home; home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." 

- Oliver WENDELL Holmes

That beautiful quote is painted on the side of a building in my sweet little hometown and I absolutely love that fact.  Every single time I drive down Wendell Blvd and see those words, it reminds me that I CAN still call Wendell home, even though I also call Tahoe home now.  

Despite having not lived in Wendell for many years, that will always be the first place I think of when I think of "home."  

"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." 

- Maya Angelou

It's weird how we can return, years later, to places we once lived and somehow settle right back in pretty effortlessly.  I feel blessed to think of many different places as HOME. 

So a few days after Christmas, I headed to NC and (as is typical for any visit to NC these days) I hit the ground running.  I took a red-eye and landed at RDU at 5am!  My amazing parents picked me up at that crazy hour and graciously drove me home to sleep for a few hours.  

Once I was a bit more rested, I headed off to Greensboro/Burlington to check on our house and visit with some friends.  

First stop: Kendall's 21st Birthday Party!!! 

PURE JOY

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES.

WAITING ON THE BIRTHDAY SONG! 

Y'all I did SO much more while in Greensboro/Burlington but I didn't take a single picture!  Gah!

  

I had lunch with some of the sweetest friends I have ever known (thanks again Shea, Nathan, and Brady) and we played football/frisbee in the yard for HOURS.  I had so much fun.  I laughed so hard my abs hurt!  Simply a fantastic day!!! 

My sweet friend Grace, and her significant other (nice to meet you by the way Jeff and Sarah), drove all the way from Kernersville to meet me for dinner!  It was SOOO good to see you Gracie Lou and maybe it won't be a full year between our next visit.  

I drove back to Wendell Friday night and on Saturday my dad's side of the family came over.  Mom cooked and we stuffed our faces!  Then we ran around the yard with the kids to burn off those calories.  It was so much fun and it was so good to see everyone!  Again... it was so much fun that I didn't stop to take a single picture!  Geez. 

Sunday night was New Year's Eve!  Bye Bye 2017!  Hello 2018!!!  

We stayed home in our pj's and waited patiently for the ball to drop.  The kids did a GREAT job staying up but both fell asleep just before midnight.  

"The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave and it feels even better to come back." 

- Unknown 

I had a few days to hang with my parents before flying back out to Tahoe. It was good quality time that I'm incredibly grateful for. 

It always feels amazing to be home... but I always find myself missing this OTHER place I call home... Tahoe.  It's weird to love 2 places on opposite sides of the country, and to feel like half your heart is in each.  As much as I love being with my friends and family in NC, I was fiercely missing my husband and fur baby.  

"Home is wherever you leave everything you love and never question that it will be there when you return." 

- Leo Christopher

I returned to Tahoe to a freshly groomed puppy and a clean house (I hit the jackpot with my hubs y'all).  

FIRST TIME GETTING GROOMED AND THEY
GAVE ME THIS COOL BANDANA. 

I've settled back into "normal" routines of work and since we have LITERALLY NO SNOW, I can still get out and do some hiking with the pup: 

JUST UP THE TRAIL FROM OUR HOUSE...
A VERY DIFFERENT PICTURE THAN THIS TIME LAST YEAR. 

KING OF THE ROCK

SOMEONE LOVED RUNNING THROUGH
THE STREAM AND GOT FILTHY!!! 

BUT I CLEANED HIM UP SO HE COULD GET
UP ON THE COUCH... CAN'T DENY THAT FACE! 

Going home is like going back to your comfort zone.  It can be refreshing and comfortable and rejuvenating.  But going back to my home across the country reminds me of how fortunate I am to have had this opportunity.  Tahoe has been an opportunity to rely only on each other (which we could do because we know we have an unconditional support system in NC), and to grow together.  It has opened us up to amazing new experiences and I have zero regrets about that. 

"... You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you'll discover will be wonderful.  What you'll discover is yourself." 

- Alan Alda

 So, while I miss "home" sometimes, I know it's actually because I miss the people that make it feel like home... and I know those people love and support me no matter where I live. 

It's only because of my roots that I am able to spread my wings.  

"We carry our homes within us, which enables us to fly." 

- John Cage