I have returned to the supportive and bouncy box spring mattress, placed clumsily on the floor of my carpeted bedroom—a warm haven that had been sitting as lifeless as a sardine can for the 2 weeks I was away. I must say it is good to be back home. Winter feels like winter in Colorado. The trees hang twiggy and lifeless above the crisp frosted blades of grass; the sun pushes futilely through the hazy grey mask of the clouded grey sky; wearing long sleeves and thick jackets to fight the ever-present cold makes you feel like you are constantly receiving a hug; soup and crackers never tasted better…it is my favorite to place to be for my favorite season. Not to say that Texas was not a pleasant time though. It was exactly what I needed. It had been years since I had been away somewhere that I did not have to worry about a schedule, and had time to sprawl out and put my anchor down, enjoying the sensation of being away with a place to feel at home at. My reason for going away so abruptly after returning home from tour was to spend the much-needed time together with my older brother, and we did just that. I also was able to do a lot of thinking and that is primarily why I wanted to write this journal entry and why I titled it “it’s hard to settle down when you are never around”. On the 26th of this month I will reach the ripened age of 25. Most of the people I went to high school with are getting engaged or having kids. They have graduated college and found career paths. They have a mailbox to receive a paycheck in. They have garages to park their cars in. My life is so much different. I live with 5 of my best friends. We drink beer every night and watch movies until 5am. I sleep on a box spring mattress. My day to day agenda is finding places to go and people to see to make the time I have at home memorable. We play loud instruments and smoke pot on the back porch. My parents are proud and so am I. I have gotten to travel to 48 of the United States, see all of Canada, Mexico, Britain and a big chunk of Europe. I have stood in a crowd of 40,000 Belgians and watched Nine Inch Nails because we played a festival with them. I have had to opportunity to befriend people all over the country and get the amazing experience of seeing them when we return. It is a good life. So, when I turn 25 I am not going to think about the people I went to high school with; at our 10-year reunion I will probably have more stories to tell than them anyway. When I turn 25 on the 26th--to whoever is reading this—I hope you raise a cold beer in my honor so you can party with me. Cheers
