In the New Year.

It's really tough to return to posting regularly after having been gone for so long. Internet access was shoddy, at best. Time became more and more precious after Christmas. Trips, friends, and festivities took up almost all of my time, but it was enjoyed.

Extended breaks that involve going home (Hoover) are increasingly tough as I get older and more disconnected from that place. Times are changing. Home reminds me of things past, and things that are no longer a part of my life. And "home" is a term that is changing meanings. Auburn feels more like home than Bluff Park. But Auburn doesn't always feel like home either. Home is where the people I love are. Yes, I love my mom and my grandmother, and it was excellent to be in their presence for a few weeks of laughter, good food, good talks, and relaxation. But my little brother, who I feel more and more disconnected with every day, was MIA for most of the break. Something about a girl in Tuscaloosa. And I love my older brother, sister-in-law, and beautiful niece and nephews. It was wonderful to play with them and hold Sam. I got to go with Stokes see Connie play with Red Mountain at Workplay, and that was an excellent night. My family is great, and I am thankful for them and love them and thank God for them. 

But home took a different shape over this break. I think this is cliche nowadays, but home is a mindset. I felt at home with 5 kids in our house on an otherwise lazy, low-key Christmas Day, but home was more evident in my friends in Nashville and Boulder, and most evident in my strong desire to get back to Auburn for what is my last semester of school. 

Nashville was great. I loved ringing in the New Year and my birthday with Auburn friends at a downtown establishment which I would otherwise never call "my kind of place". I loved seeing people in Nashville I haven't seen in a while. Boulder was great. It's a beautiful place. It was so good to see many of my friends from the Kenya trip. But I felt extremely disconnected from them, to be honest. It's a somewhat sobering thought to realize that you can still love people, but realize that you've all changed so much that you are nothing like them anymore. Not that it's bad or anyone's fault. Just something that happens, and it's hard to realize until you spend some time with them. 

The whole time, thoughts of Auburn had a tight grip on me. I was sick of festivities. Christmas, New Years, my birthday, and a huge reunion were all great, but I was ready for  it all to be over. I was ready to be in Auburn. I was ready to be home.

I'm home now. Life is back to normal. Not routine, just normal. Normal can be good sometimes. This is the beginning of the end of a quite interesting chapter of my life. Here's to having even more fun, and making even more memories, than I've made in the last 3 1/2 years. Let the final laps of this race begin. And let the location and details of the next race reveal themselves soon.