official



Today I am returned from school, and my summer has officially begun. My last two weeks have been strange; home for Easter, back to school only to hide from tornadoes, be evacuated, say goodbye, and drive home for a week with my roommate, A. And then only to come back this weekend for graduation. But now, graduation is over, Allie has returned to Charlotte, I am home and my summer is here.
I know summer is here when I sit in silence and don’t notice it. At school there is always something to listen to or something not to listen to. Always noise or an intentional absence of noise. But at home, my family lives with silence. It is part of us. I’m not really sure if this is just a feature of living in a real house, not a dorm, or this is a quirk of my family. I know we (oddly) do not talk when we eat or drive in the car; it’s almost unnatural when we’re all together. Rarely is there natural, easy conversation around meals. I’m not sure if it’s a habit built in from both of my parents growing up on farms and eating meals weary after hard work. Or it might just be the introvert coming from both of my parents. Whatever it is, for me being home means being okay with being quiet.
Last week, when A was here after the tornadoes, I found it hard to be home. I was somehow still gone, restless, unable to focus on the people and work in Macon, Georgia. But now, I can bury myself into a summer routine, although with Isaac’s graduation and wedding, there will be no routine until I start work.

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