Back in Missoula with the eyes of an urbanite whose been living far, far away from a big city for way too long. And while I spent the first few hours of the long drive home from Portland relishing the diversity of the families in the parks, the child-friendly, super-hip coffee shops, the kickin' secondhand shops, the delightful flavors of lemongrass and chipotle, basil and unagi, all playing their savory melodies on this foodies palate, days of unique cuisine from all over the globe a memory to hold as I come back to a land of wide, open spaces and, not a whole lot of diversity in between---
I really am happy to be home. Really.
As I biked through downtown after teaching yoga tonight, I thought about all the amenities this funky small town really does have to offer. While there isn't a whole lot more to explore beyond downtown in terms of stuff that you can purchase and savor and find fun or funky or hip, there is a whole lot to explore in terms of trails and waterfalls, wilderness areas and swimming holes.
So it's a trade off.
And, considering my current post vacation bank account, I shouldn't be let loose in the big city for too long anymore. Because I did savor every minute of it, let myself be filled with the sounds and colors, reading every menu along the way. And my Chicken loved it too. She was on total stiumlation overload, the world alive and wild with new things to devour at every turn.
Today she barely left our little house. Yet her tiny plastic slide and the dirt in the dill and parsley pots I planted yesterday, kept her pretty darn busy. The hose. The drawer of kitchen linens that I decided to reorganize (ah, the delights of being a teacher on summer break!). First she made a bed with dish rags. A dress with a tablecloth, wrecking my organized piles along the way. But, really, who cares? What else do we have to do? It's just us, just here, just now.
The day flew by today and I don't have a whole lot to show for it. A couple of organized kitchen drawers. A new sequence of yoga moves to share with my class. A baked chicken sitting happily in my belly. A little girl, covered in marker from head to toe, stickers in her hair, dirt under her nails (toes too!), all smiles and chatter, songs and mischief.
Because home's anywhere you are too.
2 comments:
smiling. just went through all these feelings returning home from up north. mixed feelings, but man is home ever sweeter when you cme back and realize it's just what you want it to be. she's beautiful, gillian...that first picture. precious.
Oh Miggins... i love when that line gets stuck in my head, and it does... a lot. I think of our families all spread out across the universe and how just being with them, anywhere, feels like home. And I think about Missoula and the people like you in my life that make this such a wondrous place to call home. And my little family... how if the world fell down around us, home is still anywhere they are, too. Thanks for a great night last night. I'll work on my version of miggins for you for next time.
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