the comforts of home.

With all this talk of the good ole USA, I'm missing home. Of course, before anything else, I'm missing my family and friends. I'm missing the comfort of the house I grew up in, the only house I ever knew before moving to college. The house my Dad built with his own two hands. The house with the big yard, the pool, the playhouse, the long driveway and the basketball hoop. The house with the front yard that was the setting for so many memories. The light post that acted as second base for our many kickball games, including the one where my sister ran right into it, knocking out her two front teeth. The pool that was the highlight at many parties, afternoon diving and racing competitions, and relaxing afternoons sunbathing on a raft. The hammock where my Mom spends many an afternoon alternating between reading and snoozing. The apple tree that grows only crab apples. The garden that is the scene of my Dad's ongoing battle with raccoons, possums, and deer - the same deer that eat all the beautiful flowers throughout the yard. And, the same white tailed deer that after some persuading, I had my guy convinced were deadly creatures. This is the house with the back deck where my family has enjoyed so many meals together - my favorite place to dine. This is the yard where I watched my Grandpa tinkering away at everything, fixing, re-fixing, adjusting, re-adjusting for so many years. This is the house with the doors always opened to guests (as long as they close it before the dog gets out!). The house where many people stop by on a run, a bike ride, or just because. This is the house where the cherry blossom tree beautifully sprouts in spring time while making a mess of our cars. The home so close to the sea that you can smell it in the air. This is the house with the wall where my parents recorded our heights each year. This is the house that smells of Yankee candles, that is full of more Longaberger baskets than one can count, that is covered in pictures and full of moments - the good and the bad (mostly good).

So while I am thinking about home and the place I obviously miss so much.  I, of course, am thinking of other things I am missing. My French teacher laughs at my little list of both things I need to do when I'm back home and things I need to remember to bring back here! I will undoubtedly be adding to this list as the time nears, but here is what I have so far...

Food
BAGELS! specifically from The Bagel Store and more specifically Multi-Grain Everything but I'd settle for Bayside Bagels
Chu Chee Curry from Chai Thai
Veggie Burger and Peanut Butter Bomb (OMG! the best Chocolate Cake) from Curly's
Focaccia Melt, Coconut Curry Garbanzo Soup, White Bean Soup, Carrot Cake, Muffins, AND Cupcakes from Twisted Tree (with my mother and sister!!)
Potato Salad and Pasta Salad by my Mom
Shrimp Scampi with Broccoli and Chili by my Dad

Things
Spices (I swear pepper does not taste the same here)
Measuring Cups (all my recipes are in US measurements!)
My beloved Fiestaware dishes, bowls, mugs, my favorite soup cup, etc.
My knife!!! (it is so hard to cut without a proper knife)
My pots and pans (it isn't rocket science that the spices and the foods you cook get ingrained into your pots and pans, and I want mine!)
Books and Cookbooks

I'm actually quite amused that everything on my list involves food. I, of course, want my summer dresses and bathing suits, summer sandals and wedges, but I knew when I was packing that I wasn't packing for summer so the fact that it's been warmer than I imagined is nothing a shopping trip can't solve. However, the comforts of home, the restaurants, and the things on my list are all tangibles I can only get while home.

If I want to enjoy France more, I need to have more of the things I love surrounding me (because I, unfortunately, can't have the people I love here all the time). Maya Angelou was once quoted saying, "I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself." That's my goal. So, eventually, when I have a home of my own here (when I say eventually, I mean, please, God, SOON!), I can fill that home with the things I love and miss and start building a haven of memories just like my Mom and Dad did/do so well back in New Jersey.