Second chances do come around, right?

Friday night found me in a car on the way down to Southern Vermont. Didn't I just finish saying that I wasn't going to come home until August? After work I caught a ride in a beat-up blue pile of junk with my co-worker. The two hours passed by fairly quickly. Around 5:30,  6ish, I was rolling into the Shaw's parking lot for a last-minute pick up of orange juice and Cool Ranch Doritos (not my idea of a feast, but, hey, it wasn't going in my stomach) and we were pulling into the driveway of the ramshackle house that I call home. I step inside and find that my mother has redone the house...Again. This wouldn't be the second time, or the third time within the last three months...this would be the fourth. Although, I've definitely got to say that this time, I think she nailed it. Stepping into the kitchen, I felt like I was at a cafe on the verdana, expecting to look out our not-too-large windows and see the rolling hills of Ireland or a bustling street in Paris. Instead, all I saw were the worn, gray sidewalks of Poultney.

Up the stairs, I find that my room, or rather the guest room, is painted in gray and white stripes, accented with a god-awful red floral comforter and pillows that don't look too comfy to rest your exhausted, more-than-likely-too-many-shots-and-twelve-beers-in- head on. Hermanito's room is awesome-the rock and roll haven of a teenage boy-black walls, guitar carpet, and lime green accents. Down the hall, past the never-ending shelves of DVDs and old school VHSs, I pass mother's room. It's a peaceful, hippyish retreat full of warm colors and soothing patterns. I could almost feel the positive energy coming out of her room. Last stop is the bathroom, which has transformed into some kind of island paradise. The crisp, white walls make the room seem larger, and the brightly stacked towels give the space a shout of color. Palm trees adorn the bath mat, soap and toothbrush dispenser, and even the toilet paper rack. Oddly enough, I think this would have to be my favorite newly done room in the house.