After a summer of travels, adventures, and lazy weekend rambling, home begins to become a bit of a distant idea, rather than the day-in, day-out reality. It’s a place to drop your dirty clothes and plan your next bit of wanderlust. But with the dog days of summer drifting idly behind us, the time has come to sit down and stay a while and remember that there’s no place like home. So to get us in the proper autumnal mindset, we’re counting down our favorite things about coming home after traveling.
1. YOUR OWN DAMN BED
Traveling is great and all, but let’s be honest, unless you’re staying at the Ritz, the beds are often awful. The pillows are never quite right, the mattress is too hard, the bed squeaks and you wake up wondering if a rock would’ve been more comfortable. Returning to your own bed, with your hand-picked pillows, comfy sheets is like a mini-vacation unto itself.
2. WATER PRESSURE YOU’RE USED TO
Somehow no matter where you’ve been, the water pressure is never quite right. Maybe the water itself is softer than yours and makes your hair super fluffy, but it comes out at the rate of toddler drool. Perhaps it’s the first time you’ve had real water pressure in ages and instead of relaxing you, it feels like you’re having boulders thrown at your head. The fact is, while it’s nice to try a little something new, we’re all a bit like Goldilocks when it comes to our shower routine, and even if we gripe, our own shower is usually the best, quirks and all.
3. ROVER AND MR. FLUFFY
Ever feel like you seem to see the cutest pets whilst traveling? And seeing those pets really really makes you miss your own furry friends back home?! Sure, it was probably nice being able to travel and do things on your own time, rather than having to get up at 5 a.m. in order to walk your pooch. Or maybe you like the idea of someone else cleaning the litter box for a change. But at the end of the day, after all those days of travelling, there are fewer things sweeter in life then plopping on your couch and cuddling with your best furry friend.
4. THOSE SHOWS YOU HAVE TO CATCH UP ON
While travelling, it is highly unlikely that you were able to simultaneously have the best adventure of your life and keep up with your favourite summer shows and whatever reality show you’d never actually admit to watching. As long as you didn’t get spoiled via Twitter whilst out and about on your adventure, there’s a great chance that you’re returning home to a queue of episodes that you can binge watch all day.
5. SWEET TEA
This one is for all you Southern ladies out there. Never having to ask “Do you have sweet tea?” is one of the simple pleasures of being at home in the South. The nasty icy brown water that other places cruelly offer in lieu of that glorious sugary Southern nectar is plain sad. We have found ourselves on many occasions mixing packet after packet of sugar into bland unsweetened tea, only to have the grains sink to the bottom of the glass quicker than our spirits.
6. WI-FI
Sometimes it’s the simple things like knowing that you’re going to be able to get internet access without jumping through any password hoops, and that it will actually work. If you’re fortunate, your home Internet isn’t all stuttery and unhappy like that of hotels or at rest stops. Plus, doesn’t it make you break out in hives when you don’t have internet access?
7. NO PANTS REQUIRED
Unless you’re in a special place that we don’t know about, when you’re on vacation you typically have to put on pants (and other items of clothing) to get food or see a movie. It’s only when you’re at home that you can walk around stark naked, grab a bag of pita chips, and watch Netflix without having the rest of society worry about you. What’s that? Some crumbs on my naked belly? Oh wait, I don’t have to f*cking care.
8. NO MORE TRAVEL-SIZE
One thing that we love about coming home is not having to worry anymore about running out of toothpaste or contact lens solution. It sucks having to be the person who is like, “Can I borrow some of that?” or, “Sorry we have to run by the store real quick cause I’m out of my favorite shampoo.” No one wants to be that person. It’s stressful to have to skimp and squeeze the bottle till your fingers hurt. Yeah, you could pack the regular size, but then that’s one less pair of shoes.
9. BOOKS
We’re not exactly sure how it happens but either one has NO time to read on trips or one has ALL the time. Then there’s the chance that you won’t like any of the books you’ve taken and then you’re stuck trolling the airport bookstores just hoping for something better than the latest “Fifty Shades” book. Please, anything but that. Something about being home with your own massive stack of options is just the ultimate form of relief.
10. RETURNING TO YOUR PARTNER/SIGNIFICANT OTHER
Being the youngest in the family means you always get stuck on the couch. If you’re lucky, sometimes it’s the pull-out couch, the hotel cot, or the double bed with your mom. A family vacation at any age is always a great bonding experience. However, when you’re in your 20s, there is nothing better than returning home to your significant other. Cuddling is much more satisfying after spending a fair amount of time apart.
11. HOME-COOKED FOOD
Vacations often are centered around sampling the best local cuisine, which means lots of dining out. While it’s exciting and delicious to discover new foods you don’t eat back home, it also takes a toll on your wallet. After many days and nights in a row of eating restaurant food, it’s nice to return home to some simple home-cooked food or the always-dependable box of Kraft mac’n’cheese.
12. COUCH NOOK
As soon as we get home from our travels, we love to go straight to that one nook on the couch. You know the one. It’s the perfect shape and has just the right amount of squish. It’s got the best view of the TV and the rest of the living room, so you can easily make faces at your family/pets/housemates while you watch shows and catch up with each other. Nothing says “home” quite like fitting everyone on the couch (dog included), sharing blankets and stories, and feeling completely at ease after a whirlwind of adventure.
13. CHECKING YOUR MAIL
Checking the mail isn’t usually at the top of many grown ups’ favorite-things-to-do-after-traveling list, but we love sorting through junk mail for more enjoyable things, like magazines or packages we were expecting. Sometimes you’ll even get a surprise letter or postcard from far-away friends. Plus, hello, you never really know when Target is going to send you a huge coupon booklet…
What are your favorite things about home after a long bout of traveling? Tweet us @litdarling and let us know!
