home for the holidays, p. 1

There's something about the combination of two weeks spent away from home, the nearly three-hour drive, and the holidays that make the smell of home especially potent today. You know, that particular smell your house has, but the only time you really notice it is after coming back from a long vacation and it screams "you're HOME". The smell that all your clothes are marked with whether you like it or not, and your close friends are able to tell they're yours because of it. The smell that makes you think of all the good, toasty, cozy, snuggling-up-to-poorly-made-korean-dramas-with-your-parents-eating-dried-fish times you've ever had in it. That smell. I'm not even sure of what mine smells like or what it's made of (hopefully it doesn't smell bad...), but it's especially comforting today. So much so that I feel like jumping around the staircase singing "The Christmas Song", only my grandpa has a guest over in the living room and that might not fly too well.

Speaking of which, I do believe it's time to tune in to the KOST - the only and only time of the year I'll willingly turn to that station. Omgominarsaslkdjwlerouqrwlasdkflkj HOLIDAYS

PostScript:
Things I found neatly placed on my desk:

• a pair of new, very needed running shoes (Oh Appa, you are always so prompt!)
• A copy of The Shack, which my mom has been recommending to me
• Latest issue of Vogue
• Car key remote with new battery

...Did I mention I love home?!

and then there are days

when you go to Goody's (student store), than to the Village (other student store), then to Goody's again, then back to Village - and while it's one of the most annoying things to have to revisit two stores twice with that scatterbrain of yours, in the end, by some slim chance, you're able to find all you need in those darn, unpredictable markets.

And, likewise, there are days when everything may be going wrong - yet somehow, somehow, God provides.

there are days

when even your most trusty, skin-tight, high-waisted pencil skirt fails to hide the unmistakable bulge underneath it known by "gluttony" and "lack of self control."

And there are also days where no amount of denial, fake smiles, and cover-ups is enough to hide the fact that you're not okay.

Lord, draw me near.