Going Home

I know...I am posting two-in-a-row, but it's been a while, so I'm playing catch up. 

I am heading home today for the first time in a few weeks and I am so excited! The phrase "there's no place like home" must have been invented for people like me. I love going to see my family and friends in Sour Lake. I spent the first 18 years of my life in the house where my parents still live and while our house in College Station truly has become my home, I still feel completely at ease at my parents' house. It's like I get to relax a little more because there, I don't think I'll ever truly grow up. I don't pay the bills there, I'm not responsible for keeping it clean, I don't do the laundry there...I just get to "be" there.

This weekend is particularly special. Tonight we will be eating crawfish and gumbo, two of my very favorite things in the whole world, with an assortment of family members. I'm a coonass, a cajun for those of you who are unfamiliar with that term, and the heart of our family gatherings is good food. Tomorrow is my baby shower and I will get to see so many aunts and cousins and friends that I don't get to see on a regular basis. Despite the weather throwing a kink in my wardrobe plans, I can't imagine a better scenario!

I'm also excited to get to see my mom. I miss her. I find myself calling her more and more lately just to chat...to moan and groan about the aches and pains of pregnancy, to share new developments, and just to hear her comforting voice. My friend Erin S. recently lost her mom and I hope she doesn't mind me mentioning this in my blog, but it has made me think so much about the relationship I have with my own mother.  There is such a connection between a mother and child, but particularly between a mother and daughter. If you read my previous blog entry you know about the connection I have felt with the wonderful women I am surrounded by on a daily basis now that I am going to be a mother. That connection pales in comparison to the one I feel with my mom right now. Without her, I would not be here, going through this miraculous experience (sorry dad...don't mean to leave you out...you were pretty important, too ;). Sometimes you just need your mom, and I can't imagine going through this experience, especially since I don't have any sisters, without her being a phone call away. I'm so excited to see her this afternoon. 

The downside is that I will have to be away from Johnny for a few days. The other bond that grows when you're pregnant (at least for me) is that between  husband and  wife. I have never felt closer or more connected to my husband and I miss him dearly when we're away from one another. I will be back on Monday, but I will sincerely miss him over these next few days. He has made this whole experience, both good and bad, so much more profound for me. I'm not sure why he picked me, but I'm glad God gave me the good sense to send him an email back in 2002 and defy my typical shyness when it came to men. I truly believe there is one person for everyone in this world, and I am so lucky to have found my one person. 

So, I'm going home today...to my childhood home, and I will be coming back on Monday to the home I have created with my wonderful husband. I am completely fulfilled.