This poem is from the end of my first semester, freshman year of college. Being the oldest of ten kids had its crazies…and its lovelies. It took me a few months to come down from the high of Doing Whatever I Want, but I finally realized I reeeeeally missed my family. (My youngest sibling was born just a few weeks before I graduated.) Of course this poem was written in perfect college fashion–at midnight. I don’t share this because it’s got perfect rhythm or cadence. This is a personal, imperfect piece from a then-very-recent high school graduate, figuring out some things about living away from her family. 

The Things I Miss the Most

by Sarah Steele
November 2003

I’d never thought it possible
To miss the things I “hate”
All those dirty diapers
And babies crying late

The very things I whined about
Are the things I miss the most
There’s something about being home
I can’t find from coast to coast

Late night talks with parents
Little siblings everywhere
Room invasions constantly
Peace and quiet very rare

But now that all I have are peers
And academic scholars
All I really want are those
I can still bribe with a dollar

The endless chores and duties
Forever picking up
Don’t seem quite so bad
Now that I’m more grown-up

The ones I love the very most
Are the ones I know the best
Mom and Dad and Tim and Mary
And Anna and the rest:

Ben and Jon and Matt and Isaac
Abby and Baby Ruth
I never could ever love you more
Even with that loose tooth

So here is to the Hutchens’ clan
The dozen from above
Never lose your faith in God
And never lose your love

When did you first live away from your family? How was that transition?

The Hutch Bunch