Back home again

In list form, because I'm tired and need to get to my Sunday school lesson:

1. Break was too short
2. Too many people (and dog) in the house, too much activity, too much noise. Two televisions going a lot of the time.
3. Something live-alones tend to forget: the more people you get involved in any plan, the longer everything takes. I think it's by an exponential factor but that may only happen when a child under 7 is involved. So you'll be standing at the door for 20 minutes in your coat and shoes while everyone else wanders off to hunt for socks or something.
4. Saying "I'll go walk the dog" is excellent code for "you all are stressing me out and I need some quiet." Dog does not seem to mind extra walks. Also offering to peel potatoes and stuff is a good way to get outside the fray.
5. Confession time: I'm kind of glad I never had children. My friends always joked, "When you spend time around your little relatives, you will want a child of your own" but they were wrong. I'm too selfish of my own time and not sufficiently patient to be a good mother.
6. Thanksgiving dinner itself was surprisingly peaceful.
7. It occurs to me that I have, what you might call, "replacement issues." Irrational fears that I have been replaced in people's hearts by someone else. I saw this happen in a few friendships in my life when a new friend (or, occasionally, boyfriend) came on the scene. And it probably goes back to my younger brother and the whole older-sibling thing. And I still have it, otherwise why would I react as pettishly (as I imagine I did, and I certainly FELT pettish, though I didn't say anything) when my brother commandeered some of the toys that had belonged to me for his child without asking me if she could have them. I mean, yeah - the stuff that was really important to me, I should have taken with me, and it's kind of foolish to feel so pettish about it, but I recognize that I do. As I said, I didn't say anything and really it's probably better she's getting to enjoy the things, but...I think I did play in to my strange and probably unfounded fear that I will be totally forgotten or left entirely to fend for myself* because there's a new Small Person in my family member's lives.("Yes, even the Princess of Friendship can get jealous")
8. I DON'T think I was wrong to react when my brother squirted canned whipped cream for the dog to eat, and I couldn't see for sure if he squirted it onto the floor for him (he did) or if he got the can in contact with the dog's mouth (he didn't, as it turned out, but I couldn't see that). The can was nearly empty at the time but still.
9. Several hours late getting back because flash flood watches made the train have to run at a much slower speed through Arkansas. I really hope there's no bad weather in a couple weeks when I do this thing again.

Edited to add:

10. Thank goodness for online streams of MLP. I missed the 2-parter finale because of traveling but can watch it now.


(* Like that SpongeBob SquarePants episode where his granny, believing he was a "grown up," gave him a gift of Routine Office Equipment Maintenance Manuals and "I didn't wrap them, dear, I didn't think you'd mind.")

I dunno. I think part of it was I was over tired, this has just been a tiring and stressful semester with a lot of sad news. I did manage to get my niece to laugh a few times and she seemed to be more willing to be around me than she was last year.