Vacation, all I ever wanted

Well, I'm back. Actually, I've been back for a while, but I've been sick, and I felt like I should be working when at work. Fortunately, that bout of diligence has passed, so I thought I would post my thoughts on my vacation.

Vacation was very, very nice. I was super busy, but it was a lot of fun. My friend's wedding went off without a hitch. I managed to visit all my grandparents, and I even dragged E down to see my mom's parents, which he tolerated very well (including getting lost in Roanoke due to my mom's crappy directions). Visiting my sister was fun too, and staying in her 2 bedroom apartment with 5 people and 3 cats wasn't nearly as traumatic as I expected. She and her boyfriend even took me out to a great sushi dinner for my belated birthday present.

So to sum it up, here are the thoughts vacation brought up:

• Even though a lot of the pre-wedding stuff was a pain in the ass, it was so much fun to be included in such an important part of my best friend's life. And I had a great time.
• But, the wedding made me kind of sad. It was like the door was closing on our childhood. I cried when I got home.
• E is the best boyfriend ever. Watching him be patient with my elderly relatives was amazing. He helped them get in and out of the car, put up with the constant chatter and the advice, and even managed to enjoy himself. So that made me realize that he must be a keeper, since not everyone would have patience with my family.
  
• I miss a lot of things about being back East. I miss the extended spring, summer and fall, the big trees, the houses with porches. I miss football being on in everyone's house and being able to visit the fam for a weekend. I know I'll never go back, and that's hard, especially as I see my parents and grandparents getting older. I feel like I should be spending more time with them, because we don't have that much time left. So this is what I've decided to do to make it better: I'm saving more money for traveling, so I can go back more often. I will call and write more often. And, I will remind myself of all the things I really like about Alaska -- the snow for Christmas, skiing, being within 20 minutes of the wilderness, the animals, no traffic, and the relaxed atmosphere, to name a few. And I've got E and his family here, so I'm not alone.
  

So that's it, I guess. I'm still homesick. I still would like to be moving my life forward, towards marriage and houses. Those things aren't going to change anytime soon. So I will just have to remember all the cool things that I've got happening for me right now, and do the best I can with the other stuff.