Home from College

We picked the boys up from school last night!

The great thing about both boys going to the same school is that picking them up and dropping them off is fairly easy!

They are exhausted from finals.  Oldest son took 24 credit hours.  Middle child took 14 hours.  (It was his first semester at school, so I made him take a smaller number of credits so that he could get used to the different type of work load.) 

We stayed up until well after midnight last night, talking about this semester's successes, challenges, failures, and lessons.  They were very chatty, and we only went to bed when my husband complained that we were making too much noise.  (He gets up at 5 am to go into work.)

They both slept until noon this morning.  We just got back from the grocery store, where we stocked up on supplies.

It's funny... I'm always surprised by what they consider to be necessary supplies.
Oranges.  Rice Cakes.  Apples.  Carrots.

Then, the list of what they want for dinner for the next few days:
Sloppy Joes, potato rolls, and fresh apple sauce.
Homemade Pizza. (with Dad's homemade sauce.)
Baked Potato Soup.

The list of "other" stuff that they want:
Homemade muffins.  (NOT from a box!)
Gingersnaps.  (NOT from a box!)
Sugar Cookies.  (Not from the refrigerated section, either.)

The list goes on... vegetable soup, arroz con pollo, and meatloaf.

I remember my list when I came home from college.... beef stroganoff, meatloaf, fudge, buckeyes, and green beans cooked with a strip of bacon.

It's always funny seeing the list of comfort food that we crave when we've been away from home for a while.

The beef stroganoff was a favorite that was made by my grandmother.  Meatloaf was made by my mom.  The buckeyes, fudge, and green beans were all made by my legendary Aunt Rosie.  Aunt Rosie has been gone for 7 years now (As of Nov. 9), but every Christmas season, I make her buckeyes and fudge.

I close my eyes when I eat them, and I take myself back into her wood paneled kitchen with the round table.  We are sitting at the table, talking and laughing about nothing in particular, and all is right with the world.  I can see my Uncle Russell roaming through, stopping to eat the fruits of our labor and giving us a hard time.  We'd always set aside a portion of our goodies, and we'd take them to the church and pack up packages to send off to the soldiers from the church who were serving away from home.

It was a simpler time, and I miss the people involved in those memories.  I love to think back on them at this time of year, and remember what wonderful people they were, and what an influence they've had over my life.

And so, when my kids come home, we make meatloaf, muffins, and pizza from scratch.  We talk and we joke.  I pull out the gingersnap recipe, and we take turns rolling the dough in sugar, and talking about nothing in particular.

And I hope that someday, somewhere, my children will think back on these times with fond memories and will consider this a "simpler time" when life was less confusing, and less hectic. 

Wow... this post took a different turn than I intended it to when I started out.  Where did all of that come from?

Anyway, my boys are home from school!  Life is good!  We just finished making several dozen chocolate chip cookies, and we are getting ready to start on some gingersnaps.  The house smells divine.

Today, life is simpler...