P365 Day 180: In which I leave home for home

I went to the mall with Johanna today and found some really cute purses and jewelry at Macy's, but alas, I wasn't allowed to take any pictures. (Notice they don't have a "no shirt, no shoes, no service" policy. Maybe if someone — namely Johanna, because she was the only person with me — had distracted them with no shirt, I could have taken a picture of the cute jewelry I wanted.)

She and I also made it to Sephora, where I bought lipstick (!!!), nail polish (!!!) and eyeliner (!!!). Basically, it was a very girly afternoon, which I never get in Charleston because, well, I'm married to a guy and have no girl friends. Hey, it is what it is.

We're leaving Memphis at 4 a.m. to (try to) get ahead of the snow/sleet storm headed through the South starting around midnight. Hip-hip-hurray. The alternative, suggested by my mom-in-law and sort of seconded by my mom, was to leave tonight and drive through the night. I was for it, Paul was against it, and I couldn't fight with him in front of my parents because my mother always sides with him. For real. (But, for what it's worth, his mom always sides with me, so it all evens out, I guess.)

Anyway, I feel kind of crappy about leaving so early because I feel like I didn't accomplish all the things I wanted to do while I was in Memphis. I mean, I have to keep in mind I wasn't even going to make the trip. The thing that changed my mind was that something happened to someone here and I felt like I needed to be moral support in person rather than over the phone.

And I'm glad I came. I got to see family and friends and do things I can't do in Charleston (go to a Tigers game, eat at our favorite restaurants, shop at stores that aren't in Charleston). But four days just wasn't enough time. I really wanted to play spades. Have lunch with an old friend. See my sister Cari. Visit former coworkers. And none of that happened.

It just underscores how much I miss Memphis. Today I told my friend, "I miss having you around," and he replied, "For the record, I haven't gone anywhere." D'oh. I'm the one who left behind precious people and things. Some day Paul and I will make it back here permanently. There's too much at stake not to. As someone I know told me a few years ago, "I tried to leave Memphis, but it's like the river kept pulling me back once I got away." I laughed politely. Now I know what they mean. Memphis is certainly not perfect — I mean, hey, Charleston has beaches — but there's no place like it in the world.

There's no rule about calling two places home. So I'm just leaving one home for another.

Tomorrow's going to be a long day — people in the South do not know how to drive in winter weather, and we're going to be on the road for at least 12 hours — but for now, I'm going to go watch the basketball game (Go Tigers!!), eat a bowl of chili, help Paul pack up the car and try to get some sleep.