Home Away From Home

  Wow, its Saturday already! And not only is it Saturday, its also August 15th.  I’m trying to figure out just where all my time has flown to. Just last week, my cousin remarked “I don’t know where time has gone, but I think I’d like to go there.”  My sentiments exactly!

   I’ve had a terrific Summer, which will officially end this Monday. Mom, Dad, the girls and I arrived in Shelby about two o’clock yesterday afternoon. We grabbed some lunch at Subway after an uneventful, and rather enjoyable trip. As we were sitting there eating, Mom looked over at me and smiled. “Welcome Home, Brit.”

  I smiled weakly, I wasn’t sure how this whole moving thing was going to turn out. I’m the type of person that would prefer not to discuss things and just silently ponder them in my head. My motto is Hacuna Mattadaso any outward show of worry or stress is entirely against my nature. Maybe its my human pride but I like to have everything planned out and not have a whole bunch of unknowns all pelter me at once; I like to at least LOOK  like I’ve got things under control, not freaking out like the next person.

Since we’re trading houses with some friends of ours who are in Virginia this week, we killed some time and went to the Cleveland Mall. The Shoe Lover in me was absolutely heartbroken to find that the mall held no Shoe Haven for me . . . I’m talking Payless, people. I went shopping with Nicky the other day and we found some really cute shoes. Why I didn’t get them right then and there I will never know, but now I have the delicioustask of knocking myself over the head because there was no Payless to be found and the half a dozen Shoe Dept. in Shelby just don’t have them! oh well, we shall cry over spilled milk later. hee hee

  So we did some shopping and then went to our friends house and crashed. They left us the WiFi code much to my delight and a stack of DVD’s to entertain ourselves. The girls pulled out Madagascar 2 and we laughed our way through the movie. We’re accustomed to watching the Penguins of Madagascar which is outrageously funny so we of course, loved it!

   About six-thirty, we all got up and got ready for Reformer’s Unamimous. Some of our friends run it and we had gone before when we had visited NC so we decided to go last night to help out. They ended up needing a pianist so I filled in and thankfully, everything went rather smoothly. After finishing up the opening songs for them, the girls and I headed over to where the kids and a few of our friends were watching a movie.

    After that, we ran to the store and then went to our friend’s house for a late snack and ended up staying until something to Two in the morning. But it was so much fun getting together and catching up even if we did stay late. If nothing else, they will be the one thing that make college life absolutely fantastic! They’re like family away from home.

  I ended up staying up until something to four this morning, uploading pictures to Facebook. After living with dial-up, I am totally taking advantage of the high speed here! So after everybody was up and going this morning, we went to grab some lunch and do some shopping in Gastonia. To my delight, I found a Payless, American Eagle and an Aeropostale in the mall. I didn’t end up finding those super cute shoes that I had picked up the other day but I was happy to find that some of my favorite stores were within in twenty-five minutes of the college. Not half bad when one is used to living in the Boonedocks and driving thirty minutes to the nearest mall.

   Shelby doesn’t have any Starbucks, unlike Charlottesville and its four or five. But it has an interesting variety of Coffee shops and cute Restaurants. This is my new home for the next four years and I’m finding it to my liking, in all honesty. It isn’t the teensy, tiny town of Scottsville where everybody knows everybody and all the stores are within walking distance. It isn’t Charlottesville with its liberalism, FIVE Starbucks all in close proximity to one another, and my family within close driving distance. But its Home away from Home and I’ll make the best of everything that is thrown my way, good or bad.

   My storage containers are stacked in the living room of the house we’re staying at and I’m half anticipating, half dreading moving in to the dorm this Monday. I can’t wait to put the sheets on my bed, and finish it all off with my down comforter and sage green and cream quilt. With my special teddy bear, all my things organized in the plastic drawers, dresser and closet it will feel like home. Well, almost but not quite. And that will be just dandy!