Heading home for Mother's Day

When I chose to go to university in Southampton, one aspect that I didn’t really consider was how far away from home I would be. I was excited to get away, so factors like transport costs didn’t really occur to me. Having been here for four years, I wouldn’t change my decision, but getting home is still a rare treat because of the distance.

Fortunately there are a number of travel options from Southampton, with coaches regularly leaving from Highfield Campus and student railcards making fares cheaper for students.

I've even flown to Leeds from Southampton Airport which was cheaper than the train and only took an hour!

The result of living quite far from home? I really don’t get to go home as often as I would like to. As well as this, my parents decided to turn our garden into a miniature farm which means that they can’t leave for longer than a day before various animals demand to be fed!

However, Mother’s Day seemed like the perfect excuse to go and visit my family, particularly since deadlines and work mean that I won’t be able to visit them over Easter.

Every time I go back I am tempted never to leave. Growing up is great until you realise that bathrooms don’t stay that clean magically and food doesn’t just appear in the fridge and dinner doesn’t cook itself. Of course, to our parents we will always be children, no matter how old we get they still see us as babies who are always trying to stick crayons up our noses…or maybe that’s just my family? Anyway, it’s kind of wonderful that that’s how my mum sees me, because whenever my sister and I go home we get treated to absolute luxury.

Our Mother’s Day roast dinner – I would like to say that I helped cook but actually mum did all the cooking!

That’s not even the best bit about home – the best bit is messing around in the mud helping my dad build a barn, and looking after the pigs, geese, ducks and chickens that make up our backyard menagerie. I know that’s not a usual thing to enjoy, but it’s so nice to go and do something so completely removed from what I do here in Southampton. It’s a chance to completely de-stress and live a totally different life – even if it’s only for a couple of days.

Who knew that pigs liked having their belly rubbed? 

We bought them basketballs to play with 

Okay so the geese I could live without – Mack hates me 

Family is the one thing that I really miss and although it’s gotten easier over the years that I’ve been here, I still get homesick and miss my mum more than I care to admit!

I hope that everyone who did get the chance to go home for Mother’s Day weekend had a fabulous time – and that those that didn’t get to make up for it over the Easter break!

Emma