So I’ve been here for a month now and I thought I’d share with you the top five things I’m missing. Let me immediately get myself out of trouble regarding this post by prefacing that these are five things I miss ASIDE from the obvious family and friends and the experiences I share with them. That should go without saying. xo
- My dog.
I miss that furry little bastard more than you can imagine. Well, I bet you can imagine if you’ve ever had to leave one behind. I miss her little idiosyncrasies and her snoring and her little poking-out tongue and our afternoon snuggles. I miss having her wake me up in the morning by sniffing at my eyes until she sneezed. I miss the sound of her little feets padding across the hardwood floor. I miss her absolutely miserable face when she gets a bath. I miss giving her little tummy rubs and attacking her with my alter-ego, the kissy monster. I miss her little black button nose and white sock paws. I even miss her hogging the bed on the nights she slept in my room instead of my mum and dad’s. There will never be a better snuggle buddy than my Daisy. Having the cats in the house has definitely made the transition easier than if I had had to go animal cold-turkey, but my pup will always be my bub. A few family friends have gone over to visit my mum and dad for 10 days and I had to stop myself from reading the riot act. ‘Don’t look at Daisy. Don’t touch Daisy. Don’t make friends with Daisy because she’s my dog and I miss her more than you will like her.” But, realizing I’m 26, I kept it together and cried on the inside like a winner because they’re going to get puppy snuggles and I’m not. –deep breath- Okay, I can’t talk about this anymore.
- Thunder Storms
Everyone knows England is rainy. Before I left, among the snuggles and the fond farewells was a constant flow of ‘enjoy the sun while you can!’ ‘say goodbye to summer!’ ‘you’re never gonna get a tan again!’ (All false-hoods for the record. The first month I was here it was BEAUTIFUL and I got a tan and it was so hot out my roommate and I were having dreams that we were in hell.) But I miss a good Southern Ontario thunder storm; the kind of storm that rumbles in your chest and lights up the sky. I love summer storms, I always have. They always have a way of lulling me to sleep, whether I’m tired or not. The storms we got up at the lake were AMAZING. You could see it rolling across the lake towards our park and the anticipation was exhilarating, and then when it hit? WHAM! A thing of day-dreams, my friends. The rain here almost seems like it’s half-assing it, if I’m honest.
- Tim Hortons
Duh. But, the good news is, it’s coming to England on a larger scale! Does anyone know if it’s the same roast? If it’s not, please tell me and I’ll stop being excited immediately. It’s not that I can’t get a perfectly good cuppa joe around these parts, but EVERYONE has prices like Starbucks – which is a nice treat once in a while but god do I ever miss a toonie for a steaming hot cup of caffeinated wonderful.
4. The Sound of Trains
Where I grew up, the house was situated right behind the rail station and as such we would have trains coming through at all times of the day or night. When we first moved in, I thought I had kissed sleeping goodbye forever. After a year I could pretty well tell time by them. Now the tracks are nowhere close and sometimes it’s so quiet I have a hard time falling asleep. I’m sure, just like I did fifteen years ago, I will adjust but for now it’s a lot of ceiling staring.
5. WalMart
Also a given. Cheap shoes? Yes please. Fun kitchen gadgets? All over the place! Wall stickers? Not that I ever used them, but in case you spend an hour and a half roaming Walmart to no avail, they’re in hardware. (Wtf right?) A magical place where you can get your underpants, your new whisk and some tomatoes in the same place – it was a beautiful thing. Another thing I miss that I can tie right into here is my fuzzy white microfiber blanket because that thing could lull a fully grown colicky lion to sleep in .7 seconds flat. (This one makes sense – it’s in the bedding section. Go get one. Now. And feel my joy. As long as you don’t cuddle up with my dog, we’ll be cool. Also, probably don’t try that lion thing.)
Is there anything you travelers reading this blog miss from home? Share with me! I’d love to know.
Love yourselves, darlings.
xo Em
⇒ please note that while I would love to claim responsibility for the badassery of the feature image used in this post, I regret to inform you that it was not taken and is not owned by me. click http://www.blogto.com/upload/2011/08/2011825-cn-dark-horiz.jpg for original image. ⇐
Hello, Darling 