Back Home Again in Indiana

I am currently sitting in a hotel in Upland, Indiana.  I drove a group of students north for a conference at Taylor University.  While the students are staying in the residence halls making new friends and enjoying a concert, I get to sit in my sweatpants and watch NBC comedies.  It's awesome.  Also awesome, I am less than 90 miles from my home.

I love home.  The word itself is a great thing.  It means comfort, familiarity, family, friends, and all kinds of other wonderful goodness.  90 miles might sound like a lot, but compared to 450 - it's not too bad.  Weather permitting, my dad is driving up to have lunch with me tomorrow.  I could write a series of books on how wonderful my dad is, this is just another example.  90 miles to have lunch with me is like driving down the street for him.  I am so excited to see him.

I won't actually get to be at home during this trip, but just being in the vicinity is good for me.  It's not like I am from this magical place.  It's Indiana - no mountains, beach, major metropolitan city (although I learned last week Indianapolis is the largest city without a major water way), but it's my home.  I finally got a Tennessee driver's license this week, and it just made me sad.  I have lived in Tennessee officially for a year and a half, and the previous four years as an undergrad.  Tennessee has it's perks - sweet tea, Pal's, Milligan College and the mountains aren't half bad.  But it's not home.

Maybe that's the beauty of home.  It will always be there, a place to go back to, and to be from.  Or maybe that's what I get for living in the same house since I was in 1st grade and growing up surrounded by wonderful people.  Either way, I'll take it.  In the meantime, I will proudly wear my IU sweatshirt and enjoy the Indiana references on Parks and Recreation.