No Place Like Home

      Thursday we left for Long Island to visit recently married daughter and her husband at Carle Place, NY.   The visit was both a social time and a work session.  They have moved into their first house and since both of them are working professionals, their days are long and setting up the household takes a lot of extra energy.   So Nancy and I went to work as soon as we arrived.  Viki and Matt had a list of projects for us to do so we had some direction.  However, as veterans of making moves and setting up a new household, we were soon making decisions and storing items where we thought they could bring out later as they made all the many decisions of how they would want to arrange things.    There are 17 steps to the second floor and I think I made at least 50 trips up and down those stairs carrying box after box of stuff for office, bedroom and storage.   A challenge for my geezer back.   Fortunately, Tylenol eases the pain.

An Organized Kitchen in the New House

    As long time New York up-staters we are more accustomed to a slower paced life.   The hyper activity of the metropolitan area is exhausting for us.  Perhaps it is the challenge of navigating the heavy traffic of multi-lanes travelling at 60 to 70 miles per hour to get to our destination.   Although we worked hard, we also took time to enjoy seeing the youngsters and continuing our socialization with Viki's in-laws who we have come to appreciate and enjoy more and more.   We had the pleasure of a great Japanese restaurant on Thursday evening and a great family dinner with the in-laws and Viki and Matt in the somewhat more settled home on Friday.    Viki and Matt will continue to live into making their first house into a home that reflects their personalities and and desires.  Meanwhile we will continue to encourage their efforts and lend a hand when we can muster the energy to visit and work with them.

    Our journey home on Saturday was mostly uneventful in spite of a couple of traffic tie ups in the city and one accident scene on Route 17.   Nancy and I both agree that we are real homebodies.  We love the comfort and familiarity of our home in Cortland and the slower pace of our environs.   We both have the homing instinct and once we start for home from a visit we are much like E.T. in the movie.  We begin to say, "Home, Home, Home" with great yearning in our voices.   Meanwhile, we vow to become more comfortable dealing with the metropolitan area since it is clear our youngest is a big city girl now.

    For everyone there is no place like home wherever it may be.