First floor cherubs (and honorary first floor cherubs) smile for the camera.

I woke up Saturday morning very excited.  My parents were coming to visit from our home in Georgia soon, and I was going to get a break from trend story mayhem and Hinman cafeteria food.  Besides that, I truly was happy to be able to spend time with my parents. 

After my instructor meeting, I went back to the dorms to type up my trend story.  I raced to finish before my mom and dad arrived so I would be worry-free all night. 

I soon got a text from my Blackberry-addicted father telling me that they were only staying for a couple minutes to see my room in Jones Residential College, and then would head to the hotel to change.

They arrived and I raced out to the parking lot to greet them.  I hugged my parents and pulled them towards Jones, so excited to show them the room I now call home.  After showing them my humble abode, they left for their hotel. 

At 5:30 p.m. I changed into a “going out to dinner outfit” and met my parents outside.  As we drove to Chicago, I told stories about my new friends and experiences.  My mom and dad loved hearing about all the lectures and field trips we took, and cringed when I told them about the “healthy” food I have been eating. 

Soon we arrived at Table 52 and devoured our delicious Southern style cuisine, even though it didn’t remind me of home in any way considering I do not eat Southern style food in Georgia besides sweet tea and biscuits.

My mom told stories about how my brother, a rising high school freshman, was starting to look as old as me, and my dad told stories about things he has been doing for work.  It was at this point that I realized I really had missed my family, and it would be tough to say goodbye for the second time. 

The next morning, our dining experience was a Tuchman tradition.  Whenever we are in Chicago, we eat at Walker Brother’s Pancake House.  All my immediate family along with my distant relatives from Chicago squeezed into the tightly packed restaurant to eat a heavy brunch.  The last time I was there was after my great-grandmother’s funeral.  Walker Brother’s was her favorite.          

The challah French toast blew my mind and the brunch was soon over and it was time to leave.  I said goodbye to my relatives, and hopped in the car.  We stopped on Michigan Avenue to get my dad a bagel (didn’t he just eat brunch?) and have a little mother-daughter shopping trip.  I then acknowledged my parents were leaving me soon.  It didn’t make sense, they just got here!

They parked the car at Jones and both got out.  I embraced my mom tightly and then made my way over to my dad.  They both said, “I’m very proud of you,” and I walked away waving. 

As I made my way back to the dorm, it didn’t feel like home anymore, it felt like it did the first day: unreal.  I walked into my room and sat on my bed to reflect on the weekend.  It was great to enjoy real food and ride in a car for the first time in three weeks, but it also made it harder to start over without my parents.  I eventually got back into the swing of things, but kept thinking, will it be this weird when I go back home to Georgia?  Will my bedroom be unreal?  I soon decided that my room will still feel comfortable and correct, but that Jones will always be my home no matter how weird it is when I visit again.