Chapter Thirteen - "Coming Home"

The day finally arrived; the day I returned back to Devon - the land of green fields, tractors and cows.

It all started this morning when I woke up at 7am to try and ammend my hideous packing skills, prior to catching the morning train. Despite my best intentions to keep my bags light, I ended up with three bags, all containing things that I felt I'd need over my eight week break. At times like this I tend to remember my last holiday, and plan my packing around what I took last time - this however means that I usually pack too much, rather than not enough! The two words "just incase" also spring to mind. What's more, when it came to trying to cut things down, I couldn't convince myself to get rid of anything.

After this pondering I headed downstairs for a shower, and, when it wasn't quite so early started on my hoovering. The first time since... *clears his throat*

When the time came for me to walk to the station (I figured getting on and off the bus with three bags would be awkward), I really felt the strain of carrying three bags and wished I'd been harder on myself. Did I really need my suit, for instance? This couldn't fit in my main rucksack, so I needed to utilise another bag, hence my point. I always prefer to look smart for a Sports Day however, and Mark says we can wear our OWBA ties again and pretend to look like Mormons. Is he implying that all smartly dressed people are fanatic cult members? I'm not sure. Well, the suit (and numerous other articles) are with me now, so I persevered.

I caught the train to Woking, then changed for Exeter, making my way onto the first carriage. To my frustration I found myself sitting in the corridor between the coaches (not literally), opposite the toilets. As I set about thinking of various ways of making my way into the seating area (without unintentionally bashing people with my luggage) a lady sat down next to me, also seeing how full the carriages were. As is my habit on long journeys like this I decided to strike up a conversation. Often it seems that people have far more in common than we think, so conversations flow; that was certainly the case with the Christian lady, Angela, from my last homeward journey. I spoke with this lady, Helen, about things ranging from motorbike restorations to Time Team (both unfamiliar topics), praying all the time that I'd manage to bring in some aspect of the Christian message, whilst being genuinely interested in what she had to say. When we got onto the topic of abortions and pregnancies I saw my chance to share my story, and mention how God had guided me from birth. I shared more about my faith, and how it affects my perspective of the fallen world around us, but after a while I stopped, deciding not to labour the point. I trust that God can plant seeds through what I'd already said. For the last part of the journey we talked about our favourite books and authors. In all it was an enjoyable journey, and conversation made the time pass a lot more quickly. I didn't even mind sitting in the corridor.

When I got off at Exeter, the last stop, Dad met me and we headed home. As I travelled in the car I couldn't help feeling a mixture of familiarity and distance. 'Familiariy' because this was coming home, back to everything I knew. 'Distance' because I was suddenly thrown into an environment I'd been away from, and the people I'd been with for the last term weren't around me any more. It made me think of the question, "Where do I feel more at home?" - my home-life and my univeristy-life are so different! All considered I was glad to be home, and I had a lot of relaxing ahead of me... as well as working on my project, of course!

The next big events seem to be a hog roast, a Silver Wedding Anniversary, a few trips into school for the final clubs, the Sports Day (worthy of an upcoming blog-spot), and some time away in Cornwall for a birthday celebration. A lot of fun planned.

I think I've covered enough for the moment, and I'll write more as the holiday progresses.

For now I should get back to enjoying it. Not that I don't enjoy blogging too, of course!