Just like Home!?

After four years of living on the dark side of the moon, I've finally started to feel like it's home. And I realized something today that came about four years too late. Any way that you can bring a touch of home to a new place is helpful. Any sense of the familiar can fill you with warmth and positivity, even on a rainy day.

I used to grocery shop at Trader Joe's back home. There are two in New York, one in the city, one in Brooklyn. I used to buy this indian dish that was incredible. Some kind of red mush that left my mouth on fire and made a complete meal with a slice of naan. This was a staple for me at home. Cheap and filling. I was sad when I moved away, I would never have Trader Joes' Pav Bijal again.

Cut to about yesterday. I know this sounds ridiculous but I realized that the Trader Joe's in Brooklyn is actually not far from me. A few stops on my train line, a 10 minute walk and I was there. So, I took an adventure after work and went. I was beyond delighted to see the familiar signs and decor. I picked up items that were special to TJ's and was about to get in line when I saw it. Pav Bijal. My heart leapt, angels sung, the heavens parted. I had almost forgotten it, having signed it off as a cost of moving long ago. I even settled for my local grocer's Indian--yuck.

Coming home from the shopping trip, it was cold and rainy for the first time in months, I was lugging two bags of groceries on my shoulders for about a half an hour. But I was on cloud nine.

About a week ago I was in Duane Reade and decided that it would be a good idea to get a plug-in air freshner for my room, to help mitigate stale smoke smell. I got whatever scent had the Febreeze label on it because Febreeze "eliminates" odors. So, I plug it in. Sitting here now, with the faint smell wafting through the room, I am reminded of home for the second time today. Something about air freshners, or that fresh laundry smell is just so...Midwest. And comforting.