There's no place like...

 …home.

Pajamas. Your own shower. No more driving. Kitties. Spouse. Did I mention pajamas? Oh, yes, the worn and faded cotton set I’ve had since high school, with long sleeves and buttons that I’ve had to re-sew onto the shirt a couple of times.

I told Eleanor that I was going to get up at 6:30, and that I’d be on my way home within just a few minutes. I’m not entirely certain that she believed me, but she said to tap on her door before I left.I thought about things before I curled up on her couch last night (weighing options like showers and pajamas and drive time and such), and decided to sleep in my clothes. The alarm woke me up at 6:30. I made sure everything was in my bag, transferred everything out to my car, and tapped on her door at 6:35.

By 6:40, I was on my way. (By 7:00, I realized that I’d forgotten to even brush my hair before I left; I’d slept with it in a ragged ponytail and not thought about it once before throwing the car in drive and toddling off down Kavanaugh.)

I arrived in Huntsville at about a quarter after noon. I hugged Jeff, called friends, and sat quietly for about thirty minutes before realizing just how exhausted I was. Shortly thereafter, I was huddled under the covers of the guest bed for a nice, leisurely two-hour nap.

Jeff fixed dinner and did laundry. I got a shower. I apologized repeatedly to the cats. Geof came over. Kat didn’t. The cats needed petting. Jeff and I talked about cows and conversations I’d had in Arkansas. My hair eventually air-dried.

I tried to watch a movie, and ended up reaffirming a small realization I’d had while in Arkansas: I was ready for some happy, uncomplicated books and movies for a while. Real life is frustrating enough. I turned off the French noir film and concentrated on the cats. I moved Say Anything to the top of my netflix queue and decided that I’ll stick to fluffy books for a little while.

For now, sleep. Rest. The brain demands it.

Total miles on trip: over 950. Yuck. We’ll do it again in two weeks.

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