Feeling Nostalgic

I have always looked forward to the week of Thanksgiving. It's a short week - and usually there's lots to do. But nevertheless, it's SHORT. What better way to end a gruelling week than to go home and enjoy the festivities. Not only do I get to sample dishes from the best cooks in the world (aka the women in my family), but I get to visit the place I will always think of as home. There is truth to the phrase "you can take the new Englander out of new England, but you can't take the new England out of the new Englander." Let's face it folks, most of southwestern CT is really another suburb of NY. Being born and raised in what was once rural Massachusetts seems to have instilled a certain love for a particular way of life. Sure college brought me out of my shell and helped me gain some very dear and life-long friends, but deep down, I know that I will one day want to move back there. Yes, I do consider (most of) CT a part of new England, but it feels different down here. No where have I seen a state that feels like all the places I love (Maine, MA, NH, Vermont). There seems to me that every town in the South-Central part of CT has a different character. Beacon Falls is like one of those remote Vermont towns with covered bridges and winding roads, and New Haven is thumping like Harvard Square in Boston. It's definitely closer to home than the Lehigh Valley, but not quite.I probably wouldn't miss it as much if I was living there still. Hell, there's even less to do there than in the Valley. Maybe it's my family I miss. I'm so close to them all, but far enough away to only seem them on occasion. However, its the holidays I really look forward to. I can't think of anyplace I'd rather spend Thanksgiving and Christmas than at home. Only 2 days till I can jump in my car (which is my pride and joy these days) and make the trip back up to Westford again. I can't wait!