Be It Ever So Humble

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
- John Howard Payne

There was cold, fresh watermelon on the kitchen table and groceries in the fridge when we arrived home from London yesterday afternoon around 6:30. The plants in the garden look lush. The ravine thick with foliage. When I tumbled into bed just after 10:00 P.M., I could hardly believe how comfortable it was. I love being home.

We had a really great vacation. It was wonderful to catch up with family and friends who we have not seen for far too long. It was special to travel with Jacob, the man. It was exhilarating to discover new places and steep in the history of old ones. We will have memories to last a lifetime.

And, it is incredibly wonderful to be home. No matter how great a time had elsewhere, there are things about home that we take for granted. Things that are just part of normal life but never come to mind until we notice those same things are not part of normal life elsewhere. Some things I am grateful for in a whole new way...

Toilets that flush, first time, every time.

Being able to figure out how to dress for the weather. If it's frigidly cold, I can dress to be warm. If it is scalding hot, I can dress to be cool. I can slather myself in sunscreen to protect my skin from the blazing sun. I can wear a raincoat to keep dry from the rain. Rarely, if ever, do I have to figure out how to dress for all of that in a single day, or even a single hour.

Tim Hortons. A large cup of coffee is $1.65 as opposed to a small cup of coffee pretty much everywhere in the U.K. at a price equivalent to $4.00.

Have I mentioned how happy I am to be home?