Home [bitter]sweet home.

As I rode my train, that I almost missed, from Philadelphia to Lancaster I was half-listening to a podcast about Marxism. I was mostly thinking of what going home would be like, and making a point o picture all the details of home I could remember. It's only been three weeks since I left home, but the distance of time and space has caused my memory to blur. 

My brother and his girlfriend picked me up from the station, as I glanced at Downtown Lancaster which had at one point been my source for doses of city life and cultural knowledge. Now it just looked calm in comparison to the constant bustle of Philadelphia. In a hurry I tried to catch up with my brother and explain some of the happenings of living in Philly. When we pulled into the neighborhood that had been home for the past 13 years, I was overcome by deja vu and an uncomfortable confusion. I had thoroughly enjoyed growing up here, but as I walked into my house I realized it wasn't really quite home anymore. Everything was familiar, from my dogs jumping into my lap or the site of my bed. But at the same time, everything had moved on in my absence. My bedroom was covered in my mom's study materials, the bathroom had been redone and there was nobody home to greet me. It was at that moment that I realized I didn't really have a home anywhere, this house was only home in concept and my dorm was only home in practice, but nowhere has the complete feeling of home. 

I moved on from this realization, and worked a shift at work before being reunited with the boy. The following day we trekked out to Sam Lewis Park, which was the location of our second date, and a couple other poignant moments in our relationship. In the same way home had gone away, so did our ties with York. The park still has romantic ties, but as Sam said, I'm now part of Philly, not York, and thats my association now. 

 

We went to dinner with Sam's parents and then went to our spot at Maple Donuts. In all the craziness of things not being the same as they used to be, I can promise that the donuts were still equally delicious!

Thankfully I also finally got some DIY supplies so I can go back to doing-it-myself, in the form of yarn for christmas crocheting projects. Also, got to try my hand at cheese making with my dad - we made our own mozzarella balls! It was a lot of fun, but we over developed our cheese and it turned out a little more firmed than we wanted it. I would love to get to explore more cheese making sometime when I actually have a kitchen!

See you later, York.

My apologies to anyone that cares that its been a couple of days since I posted but I’ve been all busy with my packing and moving efforts. I don’t anticipate having a very interesting weekend, will most likely just be continuing to settle in. Once I’m feeling at home in my space, Ill do a post about it.

Yesterday was my final day in York and it never felt like I was actually the last day. I went to lunch with my mom and friend of five years, Erin, at the restaurant I grew up in and worked in since I was six. We had a lovely time, joking about our boyfriends college futures and discussing our siblings school careers. But this familiarity and casual conversation is the type of thing I will miss about home. We had very yummy cupcakes after lunch at Just Cupcakes, on Philadelphia Street, which I recommend if you’re in the York area. Mine was cannoli flavored and had a chocolate chip ricotta filling. The goodbye I said to her didn’t hurt too bad because time apart is an integral part of our friendship, and we always come back together as if no time passes. I hope her time in Indiana, Pennsylvania is as lovely as she deserves.

 

That afternoon I picked up Sam and we did very normal things, as if our last day together wasn’t that day. We baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and watched Batman Begins. Easy, laid back days are the one’s I will miss because he makes things like that special. After dinner with my family, we went to Maple Donuts for one last hoorah and were honored to be treated like a couple of regulars. I wish we had started making a habit of going there earlier in the summer because it’s wonderful. Coffee and donuts were consumed and then we sat on the bleachers of my township park and talked about what was to come. We weren’t sad, we were both very stoked for each other. No tear drops feel until it was truly time to go. It felt impossible to say the words goodbye, because I know he’ll be visiting in a month, but that’s a long time to go without hugs and kisses. I am confident that everything will be lovely as always and that this time apart will only give us more strength as individuals, making us an even more kick ass couple.

Coming Soon: More details about the move in and new room.

Smiles, Morgen.

Summer (from concentrate)

Have you ever tasted the orange juice from concentrate that comes in the frozen cans? It tastes insanely sweet because its so much flavor without anything to dilute it. That's how my week has been, except it's summer fun instead of orange flavor. So much so that I haven't been home for more than a few hours, besides for sleeping purposes, all week. Enjoy the long post to recap my week.

Monday was date night after a day of moping around and being kind of scared of my professional future, or lack thereof one. My babe took me out for sushi at my favorite place and then we went to Maple Donuts for coffee and the best donuts. (Side note: I will miss these donuts a lot while in Philly. They are a York treasure.)

Tuesday started with a hike in Wrightsville, on a portion of the Mason Dixon Trail that I strongly recommend, and some nice views of the river. I rushed home and got dressed just in time to drive a little ways, about a half hour really, to go to Maple Farms in New Park for some peach picking. The experience was incredibly fun, though the weather was a bit warm, and the peaches were a total steal at only six bucks for half a basket, which is about fifteen peaches. Fast forward to the evening, and me and the boyfriend joined his brother for some free bowling courtesy of local coupons. This was probably my favorite day of the week, and the most tiring.

Wednesday began early in the morning with loading the kayaks on Sam's truck and heading to Shank's Mare for some "yaking" on the river. Beautiful morning on the water, but didn't get any pictures. Our evening found us in Hanover, a small town west of York. We were planning on seeing the Grateful Dead movie that was showing at select theaters in memory of Jerry Garcia's birthday. Before the movie, we went to a little drive-in called the Tropical Treat upon recommendation of his mother. I cannot get over how adorable this place was - straight out of the 1950's, order at your car, cheeseburgers and french fries with a vanilla malt. Not only was it great ambiance, but delicious food!

Thursday came and it already feels like the weekend. We took Riley to Gifford Pinchot State Park to hike and to learn to swim. Yet another time I wish I had taken pictures because he looked so cute in the water, but I was having enough trouble keeping up with him as is without a phone in hand. I'm happy to be home to work on re-purposing a skirt and read some of Anna Karenina before bed! Sweet dreams & sunny mornings to all!