Thursday, August 20, 2009

Mama said there'd be days like this

Well, my mama didn't actually say it but plenty of my friends did.

We watched about 5 minutes of America's Got Talent the other night. I turned it off after I heard Piers Morgan tell Sharon Osbourne she was 'barking', as in barking mad. As in crazy. The expression was just too much and made me tear up. My husband and I made eye contact and I had to change the channel. Ridiculous I know.

For the most part we've been so busy we haven't had alot of time to think about missing life in England. But every now and then something sneaks into daily life and I'm caught off guard by a wave of emotion. Like yesterday. My mom is here visiting for a few days and we went to see Julie and Julia which we both liked a lot. It made me want to rush home and whip up some boeuf bourguignon. And it made me a little bit homesick too. For another kind of life. For my old life in another place. For a country that is not my own yet is my own.

And I know these feelings come in waves and some days I am happier than I can say to be back in this place-in this little town, in this house that is now home. Happy to drive on great big wide roads and park in great big wide parking spaces where I can swing my car door all the way open. Where I can shop any time- day or night and eat twizzlers and ranch dressing (not together of course), and have family within driving distance and my children on the same land mass... I love all of this.

But there are moments y'all...moments when I miss the teeny tiny scary roads, the shops that close at 5 pm, a plate of sausage and mash, the landscape, the language, the humor. Especially the humor.

I'm just sayin'...there are moments.

11 comments:

  1. Ahh, hope you have a good rest of the weekend- Barking...so funny!

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  2. Joyce, I've never been anywhere else long enough to grow attached to it as more than a curiosity. It must be hard to feel torn between two "homes," even if the feeling only comes once in a while.

    Do you plan to make any extended trips back to England?

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  3. We are so glad to have you here on this side of the pond. Perhaps during another season in your life you will return home to that place where you love and where it seems like happy memories still reside.

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

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  4. Yes, we do all have our off days. I am sure you miss England and all of its character. It was your home for awhile. I wanted to go see Julie and Julia before the girls went off to college, but it is too late now. It is depressing to me to not have my movie buddies at home.

    Here's hoping tomorrow is better!

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  5. Sorry you're feeling homesick! Hope it gets better each day.

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  6. Joyce, I am so sorry you are missing your "home". I can understand, we moved back to the North two and a half years ago, after living in the South for almost five years. I am just now starting to feel like this is home again. And to tell you the truth, if I could move back down, I would do it in a minute. I will be praying for you.

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  7. Hey, I can imagine how you feel. I feel a little of that when we get home from just a week of traveling in Europe. I'm sure I'll feel it again when we go to England this fall. Love the USA, but it's an adjustment.

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  8. Totally remember feeling the way you guys do right now...I love that you are capturing all of it in your blog! Its so bittersweet coming back to the states, and realizing that a part of you will always be in England even though this is home.

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  9. In some ways you described the way we feel about living in Oklahoma but still being Texans in our soul. We've been Oklahomans for 20 years this year. When I cross that Red River going south though it comes right back to me that I'm a Texas girl. Then when we come back home to Oklahoma I breath a sigh of relief in this direction too. I don't have any wise words about it...just kind of understand how you feel.

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  10. I know how much you must miss your wonderful life in the UK. I used to love to read your posts about your adventures there. Hopefully you will get settled in here in the states and not missed things so much. I would not feel guilty. England is an amazing place and I would be missing it to, if I had lived there for 6 years. Love & blessings from NC!

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  11. Well, Joyce, you lived in England for 6 years, embraced your life here, the people, the food, the tiny roads, and even tinier parking spaces, raised your lovely girls for a good chunk of time, and got to take romantic trips with your husband all over the place. It's completely understandable and not whiny at all. If I could give you a great big hug, I would.

    Believe it or not, sometimes I feel the opposite with missing life back in Michigan and being with old friends and eating Ranch dressing and Twizzlers, but definitely not together, and missing our old church. And that's okay, too.

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