On Saturday I officially moved home for the 8 weeks before I begin my study abroad program in Wales. It's kind of strange, you'd think that since I lived at home for the first 18 years of my life it wouldn't take very much getting used to, right?
Wrong.
I think that while I was living away from home I kind of just expected life there to freeze without me and then to pick up where it left off when I got back. Obviously not the case. And there are a few key aspects of Campbell Family Life that had somehow slipped my memory while I was away at school.
Here's a few:
-The NOISE. I mean, when you have 7 people plus a dog all living in a medium/small house I guess that excessive noise should be a given, especially when all 7 of those people (and yeah, the dog too) have relatively loud voices and a habit of talking over each other.
-Siblings, unlike roommates, have little to no respect for your privacy, personal space, nap time or belongings. Even at all. Their current favorite topic of discussion just happens to be the dating life of yours truly. And they have no problem asking supremely awkward questions that only siblings would think to ask.
-Everyone in my family goes to bed kind of early. Okay, early by college student standards which I guess is probably when normal people go to sleep. It's just kinda weird to be the only one awake at midnight.
-My dog is a beggar. He sits next to you at the dinner table and stares at you with his big, pitiful brown eyes that make you feel like the worst person in the world for not feeding him, so then you do and then he throws up because, what do you know, people food is bad for him. But the next time you eat he's there again with those eyes and you forget about the puke and feed him again. It's a vicious cycle.
-My siblings are not little kids anymore. Wait, what?! But it's true. They're all growing up so stinkin' fast it's unreal. All of them except Gracie are taller than me (and yes, I am the oldest). And they have social lives that don't include barbies or eating dirt. And soon I'll have to fight Maddie and Aimee for the car. Where has the time gone?
-I can hear the train horns from my room at night. Listening to them is actually oddly comforting, and I hadn't noticed that they were missing until I came back and heard them again. Funny how that works right?
-My mom makes way better (and healthier) food than anything I've eaten all school year. I didn't actually forget that, it's just nice to be eating amazing, home cooked meals again as opposed to my pitiful cooking.
And honestly, being home hasn't been terrible, or even bad at all, just an adjustment. You know, merging my one selfish life with the 6 of theirs. Hopefully they can stand having me home too. After all, we're kind of stuck with each other forever, so 8 weeks should be a snap right?
On a completely unrelated note, I was at Walmart today and I kid you not I saw: 3 men with mullets, a couple making out in the frozen food aisle, 2 barefoot kids running around while their mother looked at contraceptives, a woman who apparently had forgotten to wear pants today, at least 4 people in their pajamas, a car with a dirty word scratched into the paint, Santa's construction worker twin, a woman with her dog in her purse, a guy wearing socks with his flip-flops and 2 beer guts poking out of tight, dirty wife-beater tank tops.
Stay classy Walmart.
Love, Brontë
No comments:
Post a Comment