I'm Back

I hope my friend Mike takes this as a cautionary tale. Having a home in two states is a difficult thing. We left Georgia over two weeks ago. There is so much to do here and so much to wonder about that is going on there. Torn between two loves. I understand Mike's desire to escape the south for the familiarity of home. At the same time while I am here I miss being there. The sound of the waves crashing ashore in Georgia. The sound of the tree frogs in Illinois. The smell of the marsh. The odor of the cows across the road here. Neighbors on Tybee Island. No house visible from ours in Illinois. The quiet isolation here. The bustle of the island and Savannah. Where to go? What to do? How to embrace and balance both? It is a process we are still trying to learn. When to stay here? When to go there? What to take? What to leave? What to have at each house?

Our return has seen many things that needed to be done. It started with removing the snow blower from the lawn tractor. The mower deck went on and the yard got mowed. It was time to weed the flower gardens. That got started but not finished. It has been warm and wet so the grass is growing like, well like grass does in the spring. It has reawakened from the slumber of winter to the joy of a wet and warm spring. It seems that a day or two after the acres of mowing are done here it is time to start again. In Georgia it is .13 acres to deal with, in Illinois it is 80 acres. Everywhere I turn I see something that needs my attention. Today I sit at the dining room table doing this and watching the rain fall yet again. No time to get my walks in. No diet plan at the moment. Routine is broken. We spent three days last week watching our granddaughters because John and Mandie had to be in St. Louis for their work. Yesterday was Mother's day so our daughter Tammie and two of her three girls came up for a visit. My Mom and brothers came over. No exercise and too much food from the grill. Sometimes life isn't about getting things done but taking a few hours to appreciate what you have and the relationships that fill your life with purpose and joy.

So Mike, there is the reality of it all. When you are here, you will wonder and hope for what is there. When you are there you will feel the tug of gravity trying to draw you back here. Jerry's pizza. Norah's hugs. Budde's beer. Audrey's tumbling. Aledo, Galesburg, St. Pete, Tybee and Savannah. There will always be a reason to be somewhere else doing something else. You already knew this. I'm just learning. Where is the balance? The only thing I can think is the simple solution. Be happy where you are and doing whatever it is you are doing at the time. When I am here I need to be here. It must be as though there doesn't exist because it cannot. If I spend all my time missing what is happening there it means I will miss what is happening here as well. So live in the now. Be present in the present.