Dorothy was Right.

There is no place like home. After almost a month away, we returned home to Williamstown on Tuesday evening. We love traveling and seeing and experiencing new places, but there is no place that feels more comfortable or more comforting than being home. Sleeping in your own bed. Being in your own space.

I also crave to get back into my normal routine. I am a “routine guy” as my wife would say. When we travel, I usually establish a routine pretty quickly. In Florida, we headed to the gym early every morning, then back to the condo for coffee, jump into our work, and then a late afternoon walk, and finishing the day with dinner and a glass of wine.

On Friday afternoon, we rode our bikes to the beach to kick off the weekend. Then we usually stopped for an adult beverage on the way back to the condo. Riding your bike keeps you from over indulging!

I also slipped in a little golf with a couple of my WV friends that venture down south for the winter. Always good to see them and catch up.

My good friend George Tabit.

I realize that after 4 years of heading south for a few weeks in the winter that I have a Florida routine established.

Sometimes, I have to be very intentional to get out of my routine to make sure I am looking for new things to do and new places to explore. But I do know that routine provides me a level of comfort and calm. I have certainly become more likely to slip into a routine as I have gotten older and I will need to be intentional about breaking routine as the years continue on. Got to keep challenging myself and force myself to adapt and adjust to new things and new experiences.

But home will always be home. The place that I feel the most like myself. Nikki and I bought our house over 15 years ago and have invested a lot of time and money into creating a place that we both love and appreciate. We have slowly transformed just about every space in the house into a space that reflects us. It is our happy place for sure.

We also love sharing our home with our friends and family. I always want people to feel comfortable and welcome here. We love hosting back porch parties in the summer and always appreciate an announced or unannounced visit by friends and neighbors.

I love getting away and enjoying new places, but I always have a sigh of relief and an exhale when we pull back in our driveway and get home.