Lordy, lordy, look who's forty
I was going to surprise Mom, but it was getting kind of late and she is easily spooked, so I called her from Buffalo to tell her I was coming home, because by then it was too late for her to tell me to go back. �Is James with you?� she asked.
�No, Mom, nobody�s with me,� I said.
�Are you sure?� Wait, let me just check to see if that ax murderer is still in the back. Nope, out of luck.
When I finally got home at about 10:30, she hugged me and said again. �Who�s with you?� It turns out she�s mad that James didn�t come with me and let me take the long drive all alone. I did it when I went to RA training this year. She thought it was crazy to come back just for the weekend. In fact, I was home for less than 36 hours, but it was nice. It was great to see the family again, but it was even better to be away from Kenyon and residents and friends and lovers. I realized that real houses are quiet at night, because everybody goes to bed. Freshmen never go to bed. They�re up �til four in the morning every night just shooting the breeze or freaking out because they have a freaking five-page paper. Then the swimmers are up at five a.m. and the greeklings and baby Latinists soon after, and the day begins.
Emerald didn�t recognize me, the brat. Her own godmother and sister.
Even though I was there for such a short time, I still brought my laundry home. By some miracle all my brothers were able to go to Mom�s birthday dinner on Saturday. We went to China Buffet and it was very good. The college kids paid for the meal. Luckily Liam owed me money on a bet, or I wouldn�t have had enough for gas back to Kenyon. We stopped by Liam and Trevor�s dorm rooms to drop them off. Trevor is in a very small freshman room and his roommate appears to be crazy. I would kill myself if I were in that room. Ah Lewis, how fondly I remember you and your expanse of space. Liam had been playing up his �apartment� to me all year, so I had to see it. It wasn�t that impressive. I was impressed at how clean it was, especially for a boy. It does have a dresser with a bunch of coins collecting on it, which Liam claims can be found in every male�s apartment. What is it with men and aversion to coins? I noticed this when I worked at Target too. Men always paid in whole bills or used credit cards; never exact change and never a check.
The drive home was uneventful, but I had so much homework to do when I got back. Still do. Mom was right, it was crazy to come back home just for the weekend, but she said she was really happy that I had come. In one month I get to go for a whole week, and my boyfriend lives in Rochester too, so I don�t have to choose. And happy birthday Mom! You know, forty doesn�t seem that old to me anymore. I can imagine being forty. That�s what I get for having such a young mother.
