people on the river are happy to give

today on the way home from the lake it was just my mom, my dad and me in the car. my mom was driving and my dad quickly dozed off while i sat in the backseat with the recyclables and my ipod.  for some reason it made me felt childlike. my two parents in the front seat and me in the backseat swinging my feet along to tina turner's proud mary. i felt safe nestled there with the assorted glass and plastics. 

which i guess it what a lot of my summer in chattanooga has been so far. really sweet moments in a place i called home for so many years.  i love the person that i've become since i've lived in tuscaloosa but this past week i've come to cherish the experience that i had growing up here.  i like that i can come back here and lay on a blanket in the park with my friends listening to their stories and remembering how cool they are.  i like doing partner yoga with jo beth.  i like buying strawberries with my mom to make smoothies with my dad. i like watching cavaliers games with my brother and painting my toenails with my sister.  

i've written before how my homecoming has been an eery experience in which i am forced to reconcile who i am with the person i was when i left for school.  but more and more i am just relishing the joy that this town and the people in it bring me.  and i love that kristin can come and wander the halls of gps with me while i blubber about how much i loved mr. warren's ninth grade history class. 

i guess i'm just feeling so grateful that i have so many homes and so many people to love.