Home Sweet Home

Where we love is home,

Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr

Home. There aren't many words that convey such an immediate sense of comfort and contentment as the word home.

This morning, I was lucky enough to sleep until 7.  Greg got up with Andrew and then kept him for me while I ran.  Running gives me time to sort through my thoughts, to make sense of what's going on in my life and to solve my problems.  Right now, though, I don't really have any problems to sort through.  Life is good, so to be consistent with my intent to dedicate November to gratitude, I decided to spend my run reflecting on the things I am grateful for.  I devoted that time to truly absorbing the beauty around me. And boy, I found beauty everywhere! (And no, it wasn't a runner's high.  That doesn't exist, at least not that I have experienced.)

I live in a valley, surrounded by rolling mountains.  Sure, they're not the Grand Tetons, but they are the  perfect fit for this small town girl.  In the fall, they are a spectacular color splash of red a gold against a striking blue background.  In the winter, their snow covered trees impart a subtle feeling of hushed peace. In the spring and summer, their lush greens give testimony to the simple richness of life.  They give us shelter from extreme weather, not to mention great hills to run!

As I ran the local roads, I was struck by the elegance of the sunlight glistening over frost covered fields.  I saw a doe standing guardedly among the trees, sweetly flicking her ears in recognition of me.  I watched the fog lift off of the pond at a golf course, with a family of ducks swimming contentedly in their own little retreat.  It was fantastic to see so many wonderful things, just stringing together, one after the other.   I am always amazed by the background in this little town too.  I love it's grand historic buildings and homes with meaningful architecture that simply cannot be replicated today.   It's impossible to look around here without finding appreciation in your surroundings.

I have been all around the country and visited half of the world.  I've seen some magnificent places, but none of them can hold a candle to the splendor right here in central Pennsylvania.  Vermont is gorgeous, but it gets too cold.  Sedona boasts breath taking landscapes, but it's too dry.  The Caribbean is tranquil, but a little too laid back for long term living.  Germany...ah, Germany...Germany is a lot like Pennsylvania, and it is a country I hold near and dear to my heart, but it's an ocean away from my family.

Family.  That's the catch, right?  I love this town.  I love its landscape and its ambiance, but what anchors my heart to this area has less to do with the scenery than the love and memories which are cemented in my surroundings.    I grew up here.  I ran these streets as a young child.  I spent hours with friends exploring the wooded areas behind the high school.  I learned to drive a stick shift on these hills.  I moved away for a little while, but family brought me back.  Now, I am raising my children amidst my own history, with same woods, the same hills, the same small-town main street with little shops and restaurants.  Sure, things have changed.  Some things have changed quite a bit, but the sentiment remains the same.  We still walk down the street and meet at least 5 people we know on any given day.  Our neighbors are our friends, and our family are our neighbors.  Who could ask for more?

I didn't intend to write a blog entry in my head while I was running today.  The benefits to living in small-town central Pennsylvania wasn't even on my list of gratitude blogs (Yes, I made a list for the gratitude blogs.  I told you I have OCD!) But in counting my blessings, I couldn't help but be thankful just for being here, in this location, on such a fantastic, crisp fall day.  Isn't that the point of the gratitude blogs, after all?  In concentrating on the simple goodness of life, and highlighting the positives, we open our hearts and minds to the beauty that we don't always see, to the blessings that we take for granted.  It's working for me, because today there is nothing I am more grateful for than simply being home.