A place called Home

Many a places I have been, there is not a feeling, not a place, nothing that can measure up to home. I don't think I have ever taken the time to write about the place I call home. Nothing crazy ever happens here, there is no big adventure, everyone knows everyone ... but that is the beauty of it all. A safe place, a happy place, a simple place, a place to be loved. Just hours ago, a 2 minute bank trip turned into a 45 minute catch-up session, because the teller hadn't seen me since I was 16. She showed me her family Christmas photo and told me about her kids and asked about my life, and really truly cared. "Are you still in DC?" she asked, though I as only learning to drive the last time she saw me. Its moments like these that make you appreciate home. Lynn made me think about a lot, how bless I was, really and I pondered this on my drive to my cousins, as I was to tell her that I was leaving to take a job in Afghanistan. How lucky I am, I thought, to have all of my family in one place, to have them all so close. My family is happy, healthy, wonderful and darn it are they ever fun. Yet, here I go again. Two worlds, caught between them and not an answer in sight. As I played with Anabelle, the answer seemed so clear, don't tell Michelle and just stay, life goes on, simple as that. Then reality comes in; the latest UN statistic is that Afghanistan is the worst place for a child to be born in 2009, so what if I can go over there and do something for other kids, help make it just a little bit better. Anabelle is blessed to have a great family, shouldn't I help the others? All I know is that I am so blessed to have what have and for that I am so grateful. My family, my friends, they are heaven sent. When I moved home, a lot of people questioned my decision, but never once did I. This is always where my heart will be, this is home to me. Leaving it is always hard for me, because of the people I leave, but they know, that where ever I go, they are right there with me. Some people might be 'city people' and maybe a piece of me is too, but maybe its because they can't still dig in the same garden they did when they were four, or maybe there neighborhood friends moved away, or maybe they don't have family down every street. Whatever the reason is, I love this place it is more than a town to me, it is home. Once again, I will leave De Pere, but I always feel like I can come home.