Sunday, December 27, 2009

Home Home

So I am home on the East Coast at the moment. Other months of the year I am "home" in Kauai but this is home home. Don't you love the repeated word, this time I mean it, emphasis of phrases like "home home," "like like," "really really" and "now now"? I do. I love how we understand what they mean even when they technically mean absolutely nothing.

For Christmas (the only five days of the year when the five of us will all definitely be in the same place)----my family believes in elasticized waistbands, three lunches a day, Backgammon, Scrabble, afternoon naps and going out in whatever one happens to be wearing. Going out is a tremendous inconvenience and we punish it by not brushing our hair and leaving the house in semi pajamas. Somehow it doesn't matter. As I grew up here the damage is done. Braces, purple corduroy, yellow velour short shorts, green roller skates worn with woolly red knee socks, grey and pink leg warmers, matching pink Adidas shirt, shorts, shoes and socks, penny loafers with the penny inside, an unfortunate 'prairie' skirt phase, tutus in winter, quarter inch bangs I cut myself--this city has seen it all.

We have snow on the ground--well snow, slush, and unidentified grey funk (part melted newspaper and part slushy mud). For Christmas my brother gave my sister and I fantastic bright yellow knee-high wellies. Identical fantastic bright yellow knee-high wellies. Yesterday, without fear or apprehension, my sister and I ventured out in our matching Donald Duck-esque booties into the fancy new Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Saks and Barney's Coop that have opened near our house. People looked, people giggled and my brother took photos.

My Christmas crazy sister insisted we walk across the street to the Starbucks--she loves the Christmas cups at Starbucks (as well as the seasonal Santas on the Christmas Coke cans). As we walked in yellow bootie unison, I remembered what it was like to be ten years old and go out wearing a giant tutu over your jeans on a Wednesday. No justification or explanation ever offered to spectators. parents or other kids.  Just because.  "Just because" was all the justification I ever needed as a kid--there is something to that.  Tutus are brilliant. I should wear them more often.

Pages edited: 103.  Slowly getting there!  

4 comments:

  1. Hi Priya, this is the girl who helped you today at COOP. I must say the first thing I thought when I saw your Yellow boots was...... Wow there needs to be more people like her around here! It's so very refreshing to see someone with enough guts to wear awesomely bright yellow rain boots on a dry day!!! There are so many things I want to say on here since I just met you and read your whole blog but then this comment would be as long as your blog and that is just ridiculous, so all I will say for now is that you are incredibly inspiring and talented and I don't even know you and I'm ready to read everything you write (not that it really means much, but I've not been the biggest fan of reading books in my life, but from the way you write I want to read EVERYTHING!) I'm very honored to be your first non "family/friend/publisher/etc" reader! Exciting and Thanks!

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  2. go Priya go! I think it would be nice to post a picture of you in your yellow Wellies!

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  3. thank you! it was so lovely to meet you today janel! your comment was so kind and definitely inspires me to put my blog out there! thank you thank you!

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  4. And thank you noah! you are so sweet! i will get the yellow wellie photo off nicky's camera! xoxp

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