Squeezey Cheese & Swiffers....

Email and Skype make it pretty convenient to keep in touch with friends and family, so when people ask if I am homesick, I, probably too quickly or energetically, respond “No!” But I’m not really one to get “homesick”—restless maybe, but not usually homesick.

But when one of my friends asked me what I missed most about home the other day, I said, “The Swiffer”. Yes, that’s right. That wonderful modern day, versatile household cleaning tool that makes life so much easier for cleaning those tile and wood floors or swiping those cobwebs hiding in the corners of the ceiling, or the dust that has collected on the ceiling fan blades. A tool that can dust and mop and then the clothes can handily been tossed into the trash bin. Oh how wonderful! Can you tell from my exuberant explanation that you can’t buy Swiffers in South Africa and that I have tile floors and ceiling fans?

But, I’ve attempted to make my own version of the Swiffer by attaching kitchen counter wipes to my broom—not quite as smooth as the Swiffer, but works better than the old fashion mop that pushes around dirty water.

And then last night I had a craving for “Squeezy Cheese”—actually, I think the can says “Easy Cheese”, but the pasteurized cheese in the aerosol can that you can squeeze on crackers. It’s a great road trip snack, or any time snack. Though they have all kinds of yummy cheese here, I haven’t seen the cheap, squeezey cheese. But we are going to the Cheese Festival this coming weekend with cheese from France, Germany, all over the world---hhhhhmmmmm, wonder if there will be any canned, squeeze cheese? Probably way too American, eh?

I did also miss Real Mayonnaise, but finally found that at a grocery called Spar, but have yet to find some “real” Ranch Dressing. I bought some, but it is no Hidden Valley. But, I have found a new love, and that is Fruit Chutney…but I use it sparingly as the sugar content is a bit high, but it is oh so yummy! Okay, not as versatile as Ranch dressing, but I can stretch it a bit and put it on my chips (fries), since I can’t use Ranch.

Now, I don’t mean to make it sound as if I miss material things more than I miss friends and family, but I can at least keep in touch with people, but I can’t keep in touch with the “comforts” of home. Things that we take for granted and don’t have any idea that we might miss until we don’t have them. As, I wasn’t too fond of using my Swiffer while at home, though I always loved my Squeezy cheese and Ranch dressing!

But Squeezy Cheese reminds me of road trips with my friend Karen to The Floating Men concerts in Nashville, Tennessee—for what’s a road trip without a can of pasteurized American cheese and a box of Chicken in a Biscuit crackers? And ranch dressing reminds me of many friends! A shared basket of fries at Lennie’s in Bloomington with my friend Tackett—oh they have the best Ranch dressing, lunch with my friends Teresa and Barb. And the Swiffer, well, my friend Teresa certainly loves the Swiffer, and could make that thing dance around her beautiful hardwood floors faster than anyone I’ve ever seen, and when me and Teresa helped Barb move into her temporary home after her house had caught on fire, the Swiffer was shared among us to get many jobs done that day.

So, these are not just material things that I miss from home, but attachments to memories of home. Things that may seem so simple when at home, but when far removed from those you love and care about become reminders of not just the taste, the smell, the feel, the sound, or sight of things you miss, but things that remind you of times spent making memories, when you didn’t even realize you were making them.