It hasn’t been such a rough transition coming home for “intermission.”  We’ve been gone long enough to appreciate rather than be annoyed by the little things that make home, home.  Yes, people yelling into their cell phones are annoying, but that appears to be a worldwide phenomenon and one that’s probably not going to change.

We appreciate so many things we took for granted before we left.  Little things.  Sitting in Bryant Park last week I used the most incredible public bathroom I’d ever seen.  Well decorated, clean with fancy hand soap, soft ply toilet paper and fresh cut flowers; I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the thought of some of the restrooms I’ve used over the last nine months.  The difference couldn’t be more staggering.  That bathroom  was like heaven on earth.

I’m sure we’ve changed more than we think, mostly because we don’t think we’ve changed that much.  Nine months is a long time, and yet change happens very slowly.  Take for example many of our friends and family.  They’ve become parents (12 new babies we know or are about to know!) and homeowners, met a significant other, bought new furniture, taken new jobs, and planned their weddings.  They’re the same people and yet they have all matured, changed, and moved forward  in their lives.  Not that I ever expected things to remain at a standstill, but its amazing to see how similar and yet different people are after nine months.   Ever heard the expression same, same, but different?  That’s how I feel.

Same, same, but different.  That’s probably how we seem to all of you.  Life goes on and next week we’ll be in Africa.  Perhaps there it won’t be so similar, but having traveled all over South America we’ve found that people, in every small village and of every background tend to live up to the expression.  We’re all the same same, but different.

Oh and one more thing to women out there- when did tights become pants?