I think it’s time to go home now.
A lady always knows when to leave.
Sipsey, Fried Green Tomatoes
I sit, watching Fall come to Maryland, watching the trees get sleepy as they prepare for a long winter slumber. I see the beauty of the leaves–yellow, orange, and of course my favorite–flaming red. I’ve lived here for twenty years–a Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer for each finger and each toe.
I think it’s time to go home now.
Where does a person go when she wants to go home? Where should I go? I don’t quite know. I’ve tried it all–I’ve looked for home as a place, home as a person, home as a feeling. I haven’t quite found it yet, or maybe I did find it and it just didn’t last. Is it meant to last?
I came here twenty years ago, following a job and a dream, and I’m so glad I did. I have loved the people and the places, but like the seasons, they come and go. I love this house that I turned into a home, a place I thought I would stay until I die.
Maybe I did stay until I died. Maybe I have been reborn, into a dream of my own conception. This place has been a dream come true, but also a place of dreaming new dreams. A memory of me will linger here, sitting by the fireplace or curled up on the back porch with a notebook and pen, just as a memory of this place will linger in me.
So where will I go? Perhaps I will follow the wind. Or the sun. Or a road I’ve never taken before. Stay tuned–it will be an adventure.