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I'm lucky I know, but I wanna go home

The thing I love about home most is whenever I come back, even if I've been gone for five months - or last year when I was gone for six- no matter what, it feels as though I never left at all.
That's what defines home, at least for me. It's the place where you feel comfortable and feel as though you belong no matter how long you've been away.
As soon as I walked in the door I noticed it smells the same. And not even smells the same, it feels the same - as in the energy thing. It's the same temperature - cool enough to wear a hoodie and sweatpants inside but not so cold that you're uncomfortable when you step out of the shower. The light streams through the family room windows the same. My mom's foot steps echo down the hallway in the same pitch. My favorite spot on the couch still collapses in, and my overstuffed pillows still provide the perfect back rest. When my dad opens and closes the back door it still gets stuck in the same spot, causing him to have to give it that little extra slam. The kitchen cabinets still squeak when opened more than halfway. On my run I noticed they still didn't fill in the pot hole at the top of the street I always trip in. The light at the intersection still takes far too long. The water in my shower still drizzles down the wall. It still takes fourteen steps to get from my basement to the upstairs. The bird house in the back yard still tips at a 15 degree angle.
I love that when I was hungry in the middle of the night I got up and made exactly what I wanted and I knew exactly where everything was to make it. I love knowing everything in my home is at my disposable and I don't have to ask permission to use anything - although I'm still not sure if that's a home thing or a Weller thing...my family is extremely open with all our stuff, we definitely live in a, "nothing is sacred" zone - even if it has a note that says, "PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH!" It's just something I've gotten used to.
I definitely took all of that for granted before I moved. I also love that in St. Louis I know exactly where I am at all times and I know exactly what short cuts to take and what streets to avoid. If some one tells me where they're from I have familiar reference points and I know how to get here. In Boston I still feel like I'm missing that.
My home in Missouri is perfectly predictable, and that's what I absolutely love about it. When I come home, it feels like I left to run errands instead of moving halfway across the country.

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