Nine months and three weeks. By the time my plane landed in Pittsburgh, that's how long it had been since I was here last.
Flying internationally during a worldwide pandemic feels a little post-apocalyptic. Everyone wearing masks, all the stores and restaurants closed, hand sanitizer set up every few feet by signs reminding everyone to stay six feet away from each other, empty planes - it was like walking through a ghost town.
Edinburgh to Amsterdam to Detroit to Pittsburgh.
I stepped into my childhood home and it felt like I'd never left. Like putting on a warm sweater or a favorite pair of socks. It's where my own bed is, where all my books are, where Psych is always playing on the TV, where I wake up to the sound of my sister playing the piano, where the ceramic bust she made of her college roommate sits in the dining room.
I came back for two important events: a framily reunion and a wedding.
Framily (noun): friends who feel like family, including but not limited to the people you believed were your cousins until you were a teenager. The people you may still refer to as your cousins and aunts and uncles, even though you know better, just because it feels right.
Now all the other kids I grew up with (who I still think of as family) are adults, and some are married and have kids of their own. It's hard to get us all in one place - this reunion has been in the works for over a year.
Before you ask, we took every precaution we could to stay safe. There was hand sanitizer on every counter, we stayed outside for optimal air flow as much as possible, we did elbow touches instead of hugs. Small children and pregnant women were treated with ultimate caution, and nuclear family units stuck together.
As much as I love being physically in Pittsburgh, coming home is mostly about seeing the people I love in person! COVID makes it hard, but I like to think that nothing could keep me away from them. My sister and I stopped by the summer camp we used to work at to visit friends, and then drove the rest of the way down to Deep Creek Lake.
Every day was beautiful. Blue skies and sunshine, warm weather, soft grass, and cool, refreshing water. Chasing Pongo the puppy around, playing (and winning) all sorts of different card games, eating home-cooked meals, trying to be responsible and get a little work done. The hosts took us out on their boat and we went tubing and wake boarding. We watched Hamilton (!!!) and took the boat out to see the fireworks.
But the best part was the company. We could have been anywhere in the world, and it would have still been so restful and peaceful. Everyone would still be asking each other intentional questions, seeking out the people we haven't seen in a while, learning more about each other and sharing our lives.
Highlights include:
- Driving for the first time in almost ten months. It's like riding a bike!
- A baby shower for my two pregnant cousins - having several generations of women in the same place, sharing advice and laughing together, is the very best thing.
- The boys being incredulous that none of the girls have a 'celebrity crush' on Matthew MaConaughey.
- Having deep and meaningful conversations with each other on the back of a tube while the boat driver tried to throw us into the lake.
- Skyline chili dip.
- Waking up before sunrise because of jetlag and time zones, so I got to go for a morning walk as the sun rose.
Not-Highlights Include:
- The sunburn I somehow got in my armpit.
Leaving each other was, as always, unbearable. It may take another two years before we can line our schedules up like that again, but when we do, I know we'll pick up right where we left off.
On the way home, I was reunited with my true love, Chick-fil-A. There truly is nothing like some waffle fries dipped in Chick-fil-A sauce.
Wednesday night was Girl's Night!
Eliza and I met a lot of great people working at summer camp, and two of those great people are named Quincy and Karen. The four of us have a bond due to our mutual obsession with three things: God, each other, and Stephanie May Wilson.
Stephanie May Wilson is a Christian blogger, author, and podcaster. She focuses on women's ministry, always talking about the importance of having good girlfriends. We spend so much time listening to her inspiring words, quoting her to each other, and counting down the days to our next Girls' Night!
We ate brownies, made s'mores around a fire, asked each other good questions, shared advice, and ate dinner with my parents. We call each other our Pocket People - always in each other's pockets (phones) for anything we need. While we're almost always in communication, it's such a blessing to see each other in person!
In school news, I have just over a month until my major project is due. My first draft is well on its way to being done. I still have a ways to go, so I'm carving out time while I'm home to be productive.
Coming up: I'll see my grandmother for the first time since moving, my roommates from last year are getting breakfast together, I'm going to do 'social distance' hangouts with anyone who's willing to see me. And next weekend, a wedding in Wisconsin!
Book recommendation: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby. My mom recommended it to me because it involves some mythology, which relates to my major project. I would call it soft mythology - never definitively stated, but you can tell its there. It's the story of a handful of young people living in a town in the middle of nowhere, learning about themselves and each other and searching for a friend who has gone missing. A great read!