As she drove through the mountains the sky changed from haze gray to sunny and blue then back to storm clouds and large rain droplets. It was kind of mystical to watch the clouds so low overhead twist in the wind. She drove through towns that she had been through many times before, but this time they looked different. She didn’t know if it was because she was coming from a different direction than every time before, or if it was because life looks different when you are searching for adventure and free as the rain that was pelting her windshield. A river wound its way under the road and throughout the plains on either side.
She couldn’t help but think of the catastrophic possibilities of so much water flowing down towards larger populations and the risk of potential destruction. It was reminiscent of her days as an EMT, when she would drive and catalog potential reactions to different car crash scenarios. She is nothing if not consistent in her dedication to her current field. This trip however was not about helping communities or serving other people. This trip was about enjoying her freedom.
It had already been a long summer, and at the point that she did not know where to go, she went home, or the closest thing she knew of as a physical home. In her heart of hearts she knew that home was where the heart was. Her heart is spread all across the country, living in the amazing people she has met, gotten to know, and loves. The goal of all of it was to be at home with each special person she visited, but she had not quite found that yet. It was awkwardness on her part, and the worry that she was taking up time more valuable for other things.
In this case she was going to a place where she knew she would find a home. V waited for her (and the boys too), belly ready to pop, but with open arms. Sometimes in life two people meet and they just find themselves on the same page. This was the case upon meeting in a Home Depot parking lot not yet two years before. As she drove through the rain, she imagined the meeting, again after a year apart. It felt like no time had past and the moment couldn’t come too soon. Obviously time had past as V was now about to have her own little one, but V was family to her, and so was the baby.
Upon arrival she ran through the rain to the door where V awaited her. It was everything she imagined, just like all the other times. Effortless conversation and the feeling of home. She wondered if she could find that feeling everywhere she traveled. Eventually the boys wandered their way in and it was reminiscent of their time in the field, just one year before. She was amazed at how time passes, but the camaraderie and love of friends continues the with the same steady security, no matter the hours or years gone by.
We all just picked up where we left off, realizing how many gaps there were to fill in. Each one of us took our turn sharing about the adventures of the last year. Soon baby ‘merica will be born and given a proper name, but I will still call him ‘merica. Then life will change again, but upon each reunion we will cherish and enjoy one anothers company, the same as before.
Signing off Woodland Park, CO