Home is Where my Heart Is

Its true what Dorothy said. There is no place like home. I am incredibly blessed to have such a loving family in Virginia who keep me balanced and who raised me to never give up and to be a patient and loving person. Sometimes I fail, but I do try. I am also blessed for dear friends on the West Coast that are my family here. Here is my great aunt Dorothy Maine. Her grandmother was English and her grandfather Irish. They were married in London and then traveled to Nova Scotia where my great grandmother was born.

Dorothy Maine wore a size 4.5 shoe. She married a man 8 years her senior, seen here (odd scan), which was a bit of a scandal for the family at first. Look at that moment of adoration, and yes, great style hopefully runs in my mixed up blood.

I love going home and visiting my grandmother. Hearing the stories of our relatives from decades gone by. The stories of my great uncles stepping foot onto French soil to take back the country from the Germans. The stories of her beautiful and stylish sisters. A lot of strong women. Our family that fought in the Civil war to defend Petersburg, where civilians were quite brutalized by the Union army (my great great grandmother swooshed some Yankees out of her home with a broom!) I don't take it for granted that I grew up surrounded by such history, playing on battlefields. This is from Colonial Heights.

The first time I went to Paris, I felt very at home. Many of the same plants and a similar topography as where I grew up. The sky looks quite the same as well. This is the skyline in old town Petersburg.There is also that common bond of rivers running through the land of Paris and where I grew up I think.
The last night in VA, I took pause as my 11 year old brother slept, to enjoy these last moments of him being a child. Bedside are a few things I have given him over the past several years. I don't take for granted that he finds them special. Ox the Ugly Doll, the solar-powered bobbing smiley from Japan, and the rubberized light-up ghost.
We had some fun in the woods with his new Red Rider BB gun, just like A Christmas Story!
Last moments by the tree and harp with one of my dad's paintings in the background.

Time travel

a stroll down memory lane. old U2 is on the radio right now. takes me back to me and missy miles at church camp in VA. i blasted "sunday bloody sunday" in our room and thought i was a total rebel ;) which was not exactly horrible but a bit outlandish for the vice president of the church youth group.... met that cute punk boy who's name tag said "hello, my name is: sid vicious." his daddy was a judge. he had good manners... but he drove fast ;) a perfect combo.

Whirlwind. Wild is the Wind.

Some pics from the whirlwind trip to Virginia.

January 2007 to January 2009. Thinking of the past two years. How they flew right by in the constant and crazy pace of this life. Of all that has changed. New city, new place, new things, new job, new pet. Ex love, malicious soul suckers, ex job, the devastating loss of dear family. New travels, new adventures, new people, new car, new likes, new ideas, new places, new haircuts, new outlook, new person? And the essentials that have thankfully remained the same. Dear friends, loving family, the core of my being, not jaded.
Spending time with family during the holidays can really make you hit your "reset" button and put so much into perspective if you allow it. Or I suppose quiet time alone can do that to a degree as well. The pause as things slow down now before the new year approaches. Have we been more patient, kind and fair than not? Have we also taken time to tend to the flowers of our own garden as much as we have tended to others? What has been learned from the good and the bad? The joy and the pain?
So very looking forward to the coming week. To bringing together those who have stood the test of time with those who are newly essential and dear. I am blessed and so very fortunate. Rich in love as the saying goes.