Back when I was little, Labor Day always meant the end of summer. Unlike some schools, our first day was always after Labor Day. This meant we got an extra weekend in to squeeze in just a little extra summer time:) Now, however, it’s hard to believe that Labor Day is just another day off that allows me to get some lessons planned (and hopefully visit the new store if it’s open!-fingers crossed and hopefully a post to follow).
This is just another time when I think “where has the time gone”? It seems like just yesterday that I was swimming in my grandparents pool with my big brother and sister, enjoying the last days of summer. We were kids without a care in the world. Now, I’m teaching in Alaska, my brother is a police officer in Maryland, my sister is finishing up Nursing school, and somewhere along the way, we lucked out and got three more siblings! When I was younger, I never would have considered the thought that I would ever move 3,500 miles from home to live on my own in Alaska. Some days, I still find it hard to believe that I did it!
So what’s the moral to this post? Well I guess I just realized that no matter how far from home you are, and no matter what you’re doing, you can always find comfort in things that remind you of home.
For example, there’s riding in the back of a red pick-up truck that makes me feel like I’m waiting for Pop-Pop to take us down-back (to a creek in the woods on the family farm) at Memorial Day. Or I’m walking Anya who reminds me so much of my dog Chasey. Then there’s watching one of my students on his bike and thinking “he’s going to be just like Bud (yes I still call my brother by his childhood nickname)”.
It’s drinking a cup of coffee and eating toast with PB&J and thinking of all the times that my dad made these for himself. Then however, he always turned his head away just long enough that when he turned back, there was one bite taken from his toast, and a sip of coffee missing from the cup; both stolen by a little girl who thought she’d just gotten away with a big crime (apparently my body missed out on the stunted growth memo, because here I am at 5′ 7″ and some days my friends say I’m still getting taller).
You can grow up and move away, but as long as you’ve got these comforts from home, it’s like you just moved down the road. Being away from home for the first time is challenging and scary at times. However, it’s also exciting and empowering as you learn the ropes of living on your own in a whole new environment. Sure I miss my family and friends, but I find that if I just focus on each moment I’m living in that there’s no time to get sad. There’s no point in being sad either, I’m not in prison, I’m on the biggest adventure of my life! But I know that if I start to feel a little homesick, I’ve got plenty of bread, peanut butter, jelly, and of course coffee to provide me with a little piece of home all the way out here in Pilot Point, Alaska:)
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