I always have a hard time nailing down where I call home. Currently my parents are living amidst the Amish in the Heartland State (OH), but I've never lived there myself. Originally I had requested a specific wkd off with the plans to travel to Raleigh for a friend's wedding, but decided the time off and money spent on airfare would be better spent going to visit family that I hadn't seen in months (I did just spend 5 days in Raleigh back in Jan). It was the right decision, although difficult to make at the time. I'm so grateful that my friends (especially the bride) were so understanding of the situation! As sad as it was to miss out on Amanda and Blake's big day, as I've been a friend of theirs since the beginning of the relationship, I also know that *hopefully* all my NC friends will be blessed with many more years, while the reality of life is that my grandparents will not have as much time to visit with me.
Since I'm a Kraft and I can't travel w/o seeing as many people as possible I added my sister to the list and decided to complicate my travel plans by flying into KY to visit her and my friend Jenelle. After an altogether too fast visit and a yummy dinner shared over sushi at Mido, coffee at Cafe Classico, and then breakfast at Wild Eggs we bid Jenelle goodbye as I had recruited Em to drive me to Cincinnati to visit my friend and old-Duke coworker Janee, and then we later met mom and dad for lunch at Olive Garden, then switched my suitcases over to their van, and then I was finally homebound!
Visiting mom and dad is always insteresting. First, I've never lived there so I don't have any friends to catch up with while I'm in town. Second, I don't really have any memories of this house, but they do still have a bedroom for me outfitted with my childhood bed, an antique iron bed with coils instead of a box spring from Great Aunt Hassie. To my little cousins it's known as the "marshmellow bed" as I insist on having a down mattress pad and a down comforter to give it quite a fluffy effect! A great perk of being at home is that I don't have to make myself any meals! My mom is a fabulous cook and baker, and my dad makes a mean breakfast :) I thoroughly enjoyed some homecooked meals of Hamloaf and cheesy potatoes, and some homemade biscuits and gravy with a side of hashbrowns :)
A big reason for my going to OH was to check on my grandparents and visit with them. Travel nursing really is making me more aware of how precious certain experiences and moments in life are. Spending family is becoming increasingly important to me. Within the past 2 months my Granny has had surgery on her hip, then went to rehab, then a sudden onset of blindness due to her retina detaching, and has spent the last 2 weeks face down post eye surgery. To be sure, this is a lot to endure and I just needed to see her for myself and spend time with her when I had the chance. I'm so glad I did! Mom took off school so the three of us went down on Monday and did a little housecleaning, made lunch, I went with my Pa on his daily run to Mark's (a discounted food store) and he even let me drive their new car---uncharacteristic of him! One of my aunts stopped by with 2 of my youngest cousins, Caleb 2 and Elianah 2 months (their brother and sister were at school). I had uninterupted cuddle time with a healthy, happy baby and got lots of laughs over Caleb's antics and tractor obsession. I have to give my parents much credit for the fact that my cousins know who I am. Mom and Dad are so good about showing them pictures, talking about me, and even letting them talk on the phone with me. It's so nice to be there in person with them and they don't have inhibitions against playing with me or loving on me! Ben and Abby had asked to skip school to see me (which I highly encouraged!) but had mandatory testing and I guess they bugged their mom enough to bring them by Gran 'n Pa's for a few minutes right before we (mom, dad, and myself) were heading back home about 1.5 hours away. It was such a great day of family time! As great as it would have been to have everyone there (my sister, aunts and uncles, grown cousins, etc.) sometimes it's really nice to have the slower pace and quality visit that I was able to experience. I'm fortunate that I caought my Granny on a "good" day where she was in good spirits, not too worn out from the previous day, and not too stubborn ;)
On the way home I convinced mom and dad to stop at Gabe's. Over the years the quality and quantity of my goods from there has definitely declined, but I managed to walk away with these shoes for only $20! I looked them up online and they are currently selling for almost $70! They are Aerosoles so they will be quite comfy for all the running around San Fran I plan to do this summer.
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