...Shoos the homesickness away

This past weekend, I decided to go home to see my family. It was a beautiful day, and as I turned on to our road, I had all the windows opened and was inhaling the fresh country air. Getting a strong whiff of cow manure is always an indication that I'm home! My nose has experienced many different smells living in Cedar Rapids,  The City of Five Smells, yet surprisingly, I miss the smell of cow manure. Wow. Never thought I would say that.

My weekend at home was spent the way most weekends at the Orton household went. Friday nights where my dad falls asleep in the living room recliner, my brother comes home late, and we scavenge the house for food, and finally settle on chicken strips. Saturdays where Mom and I run to town because we "need just a couple things", then return 4 hours later with a car load of bags and groceries. Then we order pizza because we are too tired to cook. Sundays where Dad and my brother tinker outside. However, the weather was so beautiful on Sunday, my mom and I decided to take a walk.

Living out in the country, the only walking 'path' we have is along the road. So we decided to head into town to walk the trail at Rodeo Park. It was a beautiful day, and there were many people out and about disk golfing, walking the trails, and playing on the jungle gyms. 

Rodeo Park Trail in Fort Madison, Iowa

                                           

My favorite part about Mom and I's walk together, was as we were walking up a hill, I yelled, "Wow, this hill has a twist at the top." My mom misunderstood me and thought I said, "Wow, this hill has a Twix at the top." She was hopelessly disappointed when we reached the top of the hill and there was no Twix candy bar in sight. We joked and laughed about that the rest of our walk together.  

Moving away from home has really helped me appreciate my home, my family, and where I came from. I love my small corner of the world that is Southeast Iowa, and I am proud of my upbringing and where I was raised. Visiting home invigorated me and was just the treatment I needed to head back to school refreshed and ready to start another week! 

Leaving to go back to MMU was hard that day, but looking back on that weekend, a smile a day shoos the homesickness away!  

FUN FACT: My middle name is 'Lee' after the county I'm from. You can take the girl out of Lee County, but you can't take the Lee County out of the girl!