B- Being Close to Home

Before the semester started, I was talking to a friend from my freshman academy via facebook. Our conversation covered country music, lame Tarzan jokes, and our home towns. He told me of his excitement to be leaving home for college, and implied that he felt sorry that I had to stay so close. At first I agreed. Isn't part of the college experience getting away from home, learning to survive in the big scary world? During new student orientation I couldn't help but be slightly jealous of those people from Connecticut and Georgia, who had really left home and couldn't just pick up and head back just for the fun of it. It seemed at the time that they were getting the real college experience, and I was getting somewhat of a knock-off.

As time has gone on, however, I have found joy in telling people that I am going home to do laundry, or for Sunday dinner. Knowing that I can stop by my dad's office and see a familiar face is always a comfort, and when I am too poor to buy a box of Kleenex, my mother is willing to supply. Though these comforts are (insert word I am looking for here. It is late, and I honestly have no idea what it is. If I remember in future, I will fill it in), I still felt slightly foolish telling people I am from Orem. I feel as though they think I am not getting my full college experience, and thus feel sorry for me.

However, at this very moment in time, as I sit on the comfortable brown chair, waiting for my laundry to be done and listening to the clock tick behind me, I realize how very grateful I am to live so close to my  home. What a blessing it is to have my mother so close, so I can see her when I start to feel homesick. How lucky am I to be able to see my dad daily, asking him advice or just saying hello. How many college students get a weekly home cooked meal, or can have their mom drive them to the orthopedic center? I am not sure how many college students are needing rides to the orthopedic center, but currently it falls under the category of things I am grateful for. There is just something different about being home. There is a sense of comfort that simply cannot be found in the dorms, and i am so grateful to know that I can come home whenever I need.

<3