Home Sweet Home

About 10am Wednesday morning, my boss walked up to me and said "You can work from home Friday." Being in retail and Black Friday being a pretty big day all around for my company, I was planning on being in the office that day which resulted in me not being home for Thanksgiving. Numerous people offered to let me crash their quality family time in the Charlotte area but this early Christmas present from my boss made it possible for me to head home.

I packed up Thursday and make my first stop at Thanksgiving Feast 1 of 2 in Lynchburg, VA. I spent the afternoon with my mom's parents, sibling's and significant others before finishing the last 2 hours of trip en route to Fredericksburg. I got home right before the end of the Redskins game, scarfed down some amazing ham biscuits and mac and cheese (Thanksgiving Feast #2) and hung out with my adorable nieces. Pajama's and two bedtime stories later, the girls were asleep and the parents, my step sister and me retired outside by my dad's newly purchased fire pit (which he didn't hesitate to tell me be bought at Lowe's).

I woke up Friday morning to an adorable five-year old telling me about the chocolate chip pancakes upstairs. My nephew (who I NEVER see) got there a little later and the children achieved full momentum around 9:30. Then it happened: my step-mom busted out the GIANT bucket of Play Doh accessories. This wasn't just a few tubs of Play Doh. It was every color, cutter and tool imaginable. We had rolling pins, spaghetti makers, cookie cutters, critter makers, all of them. I'm convinced that my step-sister and I were way more excited about the morning activity than the children because it entertained the two of us for about 2 hours. My mad Play Doh skills were nothing compared to Ashley's holiday themed Play Doh cookies.

My mad Play Doh Skills

Ashley's mad Play Doh skills.

Friday turned into a lunch date with Alex and some quality nephew time with my friend Zac. We decided to go see a movie and convinced my parents to come along. (We went to see Lincoln and I highly recommend it). You know you're an adult when you 1) willingly invite your parents to a movie and 2) invited them because you wanted them there and didn't just need a ride. Yay for growing up!

Saturday started with me picking out my Birthday/Christmas present and lunch with Mamaw (which also came with a few Snoopy-related goodies). The afternoon consisted of my little sister and fiance gracing us with their presence and the first time I got to see her gorgeous engagement ring. We talked weddings for like the next two hours and daddy cooked up some fried oysters and leftovers for dinner. Kristina showed up about 11 and we headed out downtown in an attempt to meet up with some wedding goers. Due mostly to poor planning on the part of my friends, we did not actually meet up with the wedding people and ended up hanging out downtown.

Sunday was lunch with both sisters at a cute little place downtown called Eileen's. They had gourmet sandwiches and salads. This, of course, was another first in a city where I didn't think there were any more firsts to be had. I settled on some sort of ham and cheese quiche-esque dish that had this crazy good pesto cream on top. The women behind the counter were extra friendly and even checked on us a few times during the meal.

Eileen's in Downtown Fredericksburg. It's inside an old church and still has the "churchy" feel to it.

Whew! That's a lot. So let's recap:

1) I got to go home for Thanksgiving.
2) I got to see 90% of my family.
3) My loving parents and grandma hooked me up with a sweet birthday present and some Christy-appropriate Christmas decorations.
4) Saw the three close friends I still manage keep in touch with.
5) And most importantly...I gained a new appreciation for Fredericksburg.

I've never disliked Fredericksburg. I just knew that it wasn't where I wanted to end up. Until I moved to Charlotte, the great cities of Northern VA, Charlottesville and Harrisonburg were my top choices and Fredericksburg never made the list. Maybe it was because I had lived there so long and I was ready for change. Not sure. However, this weekend, I remembered why I love the city so much and why I feel a tiny sense of pride when I tell people where I'm from. It also helped that it's Christmas time and all the shops downtown are decorated for the holidays. You can almost feel the holiday cheer just walking down the streets.

Downtown Fredericksburg all decorated for Christmas.

I guess knowing that I was leaving at the end of four days and making my way back to Charlotte made me appreciate Fredericksburg a little bit more. It's my home. Most of my family lives there and it's where all my roots are (minus the few that are still holding on in Harrisonburg.) I got a little sad leaving Sunday afternoon knowing that my next trip home is going to be a short two days. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was leaving home rather than running towards something else. And equally as important, for the first time in a long time, I'm counting down the days until I can go home again.