California here I come, right back where I started from... (November 22, 2005)

So I'm here, back in the Golden State! On the flight we flew right over Tahoe- it was gorgeous. I could almost here the sounds of the slot machines. No snow yet...I bet some people are getting antsy for those slopes to open! Heavenly here I come...I wish. No skiing for me this time around.

So anyway, here I am, back home! I watched the sunrise this morning. (Yes, sunrise, because even though I'm sleep deprived my body still wakes up at 8am CST, it's lovely...) The sun rays shone through the pine trees in my backyard and even though I wasn't un-comfortable at the time, I was comforted by the familiarity of it all. The world, our lives, my life even, changes so frequently and drastically sometimes, but the sun still rises and shines through backyard pine trees, and I'm home.

I'm home, but I also am increasingly aware of how "home" for me here is in my past, still a place with family, where I'll always be "home," but it's not the only home I have anymore. Driving from Sacramento up to Chico on 99, passing orchard after orchard, rice field after rice field, dilapidated abode after junkyard house...I missed cornfields, green grass, and county roads. It becomes clear to me each time I visit California that while I'll always be a California girl, perhaps I'm a Midwesterner at heart.

But for now the sun is shining down on me, my dog is waiting for me to come and play, and I am home!