Home.

I'm sitting here in the arm chair in our (newly reorganized) den. All of our windows are open, and I can hear the leaves rustling in a perfect nighttime breeze, which is blowing in gently through the screen. Callie and Preston are asleep on the bed.

It's rare that I'm the last one up at night. Being an enormous loser, I've been known to crash at 9:30 on a semi-regular occasion. Preston, on the other hand, regularly goes to bed after 2 in the morning, when I am passed out and drooling in our bed. And YES I'm pretty sure I do drool. Consequently, I often have mornings to myself, which I love. I like doing Pilates without anyone watching. I like being the only one in the kitchen when the coffee is brewing (I sit there and stare at the coffee as it drips down. It's my thing). I like walking through the apartment alone, clutching my coffee mug and mentally scheduling my day. I like eating oatmeal at my desk and reading People.com, without anyone there to judge me.

I guess because I so rarely have nights to myself, it makes tonight all the more relaxing. The main reason I'm relaxed, though, is that I have FINALLY gotten our apartment back in order. After being gone for three weeks/unpacking new wedding gifts/packing up some of our old stuff/BREATHING after the madness of Project Wedding, last week was pretty packed. And I know I haven't posted anything substantial in three zillion years (approximately), but tonight is really the first time I've had the energy to think. And it feels SO good to be able to sit down, breathe, and THINK about something other than where to put the new blender/how many thank you notes I have to write (ew)/how many emails I've left unchecked, etc.

I always breathe a sigh of relief when I return to Bryn Mawr, but coming home after being gone for three weeks was especially wonderful. I love my Mom, my brothers, and my friends in Richmond, but my life is really here, and I think that hit me especially after being gone for so long (and knowing that Pres and Callie were here without me). Here is where I can settle into my routine, relax, and really fall into myself. Here is where Preston and Callie live, and I am so attached to our little family it gives me goosebumps.

Now that I've unpacked (the only thing I have left to do is laundry...BOO, but still, it could be worse), and that the apartment is finally coming into some semblance of order, this beautiful place feels like my home again. And I've never been happier to be back.