Day 494

Sammy is fascinated with all the hubbub in the neighborhood tonight! It is Homecoming and the energy is HIGH at the football field across the street!

Before I graduated, fifty years ago, I believed that Homecoming was celebrated when our high school team returned from a couple 'away games'! After graduating, I realized the true meaning. Returning from college to attend my first real homecoming game with my dad, it took only a few minutes to embrace the fact that it wasn't the same...I had moved on.

Moving on, so to speak, must happen before one can experience a true homecoming. There have been subsequent returns to my hometown in my life. College, first teaching assignment in Albany, MN and various trips have always found me embracing my home upon return. Coming home is a warm and wonderful event for this self-proclaimed homebody.

What is it about home that pulls us back?

*Loved ones

*Memories

*Friends

*The familiar

*Solid ground

However, for me there is more. Like a tree that has taken root over the years, home is where my foundation lies. At home, I have a profound sense of being centered. Although most things stay the same, instead of feeling stagnant, it allows me to continue to grow from my deepest roots.

So, as Sammy and I look out at the crowd, I feel the energy, history and belonging from across the road. Home is a wonderful place to be.