On going home.

As the title suggests, I'm going home tomorrow/today. Taking good ole' New Jersey Transit to see my Mommy. It's not really what I call home anymore, and it's certainly not a vacation. It's just a way to get out of the city for a few hours, get a free meal, and stock up on Schick razors which are $10 bucks cheaper than in New York. Oh and I get to see my Mom.

I can only take so much of my Mom. I love her, of course - she's the only blood relative I have now. But when you've had your mother bunking with you for 6 months, cleaning up her "accidents", and watching her lying in the street after being hit by an SUV, ultimately you can only take her in small doses.

It is good to see her. Even though we speak, daily, it's fun to show her what I've been up to on Facebook. She's relived to see I'm not on a downward spiral and I continue to be functional. There was much debate between my parents in the 90's as to whether I'd live to see 25. Proved them wrong, didn't I??? And she takes me to Pier 1 Imports so I can give her decorating advice, and Sephora, so I can pick out the best shades of cosmetics. Then she takes me to Perkins, near my old high school, and I squeal with delight, on the off chance a former classmate of mine is our waiter.

When I'm out in Philly with my mother, she starts conversations with strangers, and always seems to work into the conversation that her daughter came down from Manhattan for the day, and used to work in Jon Stewarts building. She's terribly proud that her only child is making a life for herself in New York. Coming from my background, this is no small feat. Most people went to Temple University or Penn State, and ended back at home, working at Ruby Tuesdays or Weichert Reality. Yes, it makes me terribly pleased to know that as average as my life here is, at least I'm far enough away from an air force base or batting cages, which makes my "average" a townie's wet dream. I'm not saying I'm better than the people that never left home, but they surely can.