Home...

We are back in Tel Aviv, safe and sound, and the jet lag has not yet caught up with us.  The flights went well, our house is as we left it (plants alive!), the circle is greener, and the weather is a little colder.  Sleeping in our bed last night we smiled and, once again, said "We're home."

But we truely believe that Home is more than the apartment/house and the wonderful toys inside of it.  In Wisconsin I was home with family and despite going to bed at 7 or 8pm, I could not have been happier than changing a flat in a freezing cold parking lot, sipping coffee and playing games after breakfast, or cooking in Grandma's kitchen! 

Ohio was another type of home as I got to spend lots more time with my mom, dad and Shawn (and eventually Paul).  I was so excited to drive to the grocery store and buy anything - regardless of season - and to park a big car in a big free parking space!  It was great! I also got to get drinks in Mansfield with a high school friend and do lots and lots of shopping! (So much that between that and gifts we had to borrow two large suitcases to bring it all back with us!)

From Ohio we went on to Connecticut, to Paul's childhood home.  Connecticut is always fun because we get to see sooo many people!  And this time we got to meet Atlas - our nephew!  In the short amount of time we had there we managed to squeeze in more shopping, New Years Eve, and Paul's birthday - which we celebrated no fewer than 4 times.

Our final stop was Washington, D.C. Oh, how I love that city! A functioning metro, great restaurants and bars, walking everywhere, cute architecture, friends, friends and more friends! D.C. felt like coming home as we crammed a years worth of check-ups, happy hours and dinners into 3 days. I missed a bus or two and walked through some of my favorite neighborhoods and saw some of my favorite people. As one friend put it, the thing we all love about DC is how alive and changing it always is - but that also means that it keeps living and changing when we're not there. There were lots of new restaurants and bar, sidewalks completed and new solar-powered bike-rental stations, but it was still the city I love.  More impactful than the new stuff was the number of people walking down the street or taking the metro, and how much everyone smiled! DC isn't the mid-west, they aren't THAT friendly, but everyone was happily talking to friends or on the phone or just smiling as they walked down the street.  It was so nice!

It was such a great trip and we felt so at home everyplace we went. One of the last things we did in the airport before flying out of the States:  made a list of all of the trips in 2011, plotting when we could next come home and how many days of vacation we'll need!