Returning Home

I thought I would be totally excited to leave VT. The last few weeks I was there, I was so ready to leave. Don't get me wrong, I think that New England is beautiful, and it's great because there's so much art stuff, and it's just a neat place. But there was nothing holding me there. And after my last few days there, there was something holding me there. I had been so stoked to leave, but when I actually left, I was sad to leave. I did not want to leave the Griffin family, and my church family that I had come to love out there. True, I didn't make it to church all that much, but I felt at home. I was invited one day to exercise a horse that belonged to a lady from church, and ended up spending half the day with her and her family. I waited impatiently for church every week. It was the best part of my week.
But I still left. My plan had been to take a small road trip on my way home, and do some sightseeing. But those plans changed. I decided to get home quickly because of Gram. I knew there was still a chance that she would die before I managed to get home, but I needed to try.
Driving home was an interesting experience. I have never driven that long in my life. I made a couple of stops on my way out of VT, but then I just went. I left around 4:30 in the afternoon with the plan to drive as long as possible. There were detours because of the storm damage, and I wasn't quite sure if I would make it through. At times, I halfway hoped I wouldn't make it. I knew that if I didn't, I could always go back to the Griffins' and spend a few more days with them.
But I made it. And then it was just long and boring driving. I drove til about 3:30 or 4 am before I stopped at a gas station for a few hrs of sleep. Then I drove the rest of the way, getting home around 7 pm. The worst part was going through Chicago on the Dan Ryan express. There are so many people, and no one can stay in their own lane for longer than 4 seconds. By this time, I was exhausted, and tired of driving as well. I was having issues with my brakes, and if I wasn't so tired, I think I would have been terrified.
Once I was pretty much through Chicago, I decided to stop at Mcdonalds to get sweet tea. It was crazy hot, and I wanted something cold. I set my gps to get me to the nearest Mcd's, but when I took the exit, my gps suddenly died. I continued to where it had said the Mcd's should be, and it wasn't there. I didn't know where to go. I finally found a 7-11 and got a slurpee, but the gps still wasn't working, and even my phone was about to die. I was at the point that I just wanted to sit down and cry and not do anything. But I figured out how to get back onto the interstate, and after a time, I reached a place where I recognized my surroundings.
Getting home was great. It is always so weird to come home. I expect things to change after I am gone, but not much was changed. New carpet, but otherwise, I was just home. It was great.
And to make everything better, Gram started eating well again. I came home for her recovery, not her death. It was amazing.