Back in the MN snow

When I look out my window and directly see a mound of snow piling up, reaching high to block the view of the next door building's windows... then I realize I'm back in MN. When my bare feet walk across our cold, creaking wood floors then I know I'm back in Winona, back in my house...that of my parents. Waking up and drinking a full glass of Minute Maid orange juice, eating a substantial bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats with a banana on the side - this is all a morning ritual that becomes common when I'm back here. Hopefully at least the jet lag will wear off so that when I do all this it won't be at four o'clock in the morning...
It's a little odd but for some reason, after being gone for five months it feels natural to be back in my hometown. I am not surprised by too many things...after all, Winona is not so large so any shocking changes that would occur are few. The one thing that never ceases to surprise me, though, is when I walk downtown for the first day in a while and realize the amount of people that pass by and say hello to one another. This is welcoming. But I do have to laugh, though, when I have the natural reaction to go up to each person that I recognize and give them a kiss on both cheeks... a European country will do that to you I suppose.
Although the environment here comes to me natural, that does not mean the heartbreak of leaving another home abroad is not present. Lately I have been trying to figure out how to better maintain these "different lives" in a connected manner - More to come on that...