What's so great about your own bed?

I'm leaving tomorrow.  It's a little anticlimactic because I'm first going up to New York for my cousin's wedding, and THEN going to Ireland.  Nevertheless, this is my last night in Durham, and the last night in my bed for about two and a half months.


When people come home after being gone for a while, they always like to comment on "how nice it is to be back in my own bed."  My bed is comfortable, but I'm not sure if that's why I love it.  I think there's gotta be something else.


I think the human race is obsessed with familiarity; I know I am.  There is comfort in walking into a crowded room and seeing someone you know, even if you really don't like the person much at all.  It allows you to drop your shoulders and walk a little taller, at least that's the case for me.  Everyone says they love trying new things, (me being one of those people), but I'm pretty sure familiarity is what keeps everyone sane.


No one's going to crave a nights sleep in a room they don't recognize and don't know all the secrets about.  Everyone loves their bed because there's absolutely nothing about it that will surprise you.  You know which pillows are the best to stack up for reading, and the exact spot on the bed that has a little indent of your body from where you've laid there so many times before.  It always feels safe to slide yourself back into the grooves of the mattress.  Your mattress.  You know right where the outlets are, just in case you need them.  You know the safest rout to take from when turning off the light across the room to putting your head on the pillow.  Everything seems like common sense, and that's really, really nice.


I'm not going to have any familiarity in Dublin.  That's what scares me the most.  I love new things, and I love adventures, but I also really, really love my own bed.  I think this is what I'll struggle with the most in Ireland, but for some reason I'm not really letting it bother me.  I think I'm pretty good at making things familiar fairly quickly.  Whether it's people, places, walking routs, or a special flavor of coffee, I'm gonna make little snippits of Dublin my own. I'll give myself a place to feel comfortable that can serve the purpose that my bed serves at home.  I can't wait until faces of strangers become the one's I find comfort in spotting from across the room.  I can't wait to make Dublin familiar.


But for now, I guess one last time, I'll snuggle down in my comfort zone, not pushing any boundaries, and relishing in the fact that I have nothing to wonder about, nothing to question, and every reason to feel safe.  


Sophie