New Year's, New Years.

This New Year's week has definitely been much different than all the rest. New Year's Day is usually in the shadow of what was already an amazing Christmas spent with family. Which brings me to this point: this was the first Christmas that I spent away at home, and I realized this will most certainly not be the last. Who knows if I can even get New Year's off next year!!

That's what dawned on me: I'm an adult, and this is one of those adult things. Once you're finally independent from family, cherishing moments when you can actually be with them is something sweet, and only becomes sweeter as the deprivation of it increases. 

Going back home was like walking straight into a previous life I once had. The smells, the sights, the sounds; all of these things, if only for half a second, made me forget that I'm an adult. In my parent's domain, I will always be little "Ricky", and I'm quite okay with that. It makes the world a little more comprehendable and not quite such a scary place. Hanging out with old friends evokes memories of younger days, where worries seemed less. 

I feel like I'm talking like I'm trying to be some wise sage, but here's what I'm getting at. Now in Colorado, sitting in front of my computer with freezing temperatures on the other side of the wall, I've realized that I'm dang lucky. The emotions of home have lingered on me after of week of marinading in it. Even though I don't really have my life figured out, nor do I truly know where my next steps are going to take me, I do know this: thinking about home may not change any of that, but it sure makes me less sore about it all. 

So here's to a New Year and New Years to come. 2014 is going to look very different, but different doesn't have to be a bad thing. Times are a-changing, and although I loved being a kid at home, I'd be a fool to not change with the times.