Crossroads

 The tides of change are coming in.

Being ‘on the road’ changes things.  Changes a traditional stationary perspective of what’s real and what’s given the illusion of real, thanks to the distorted attachments us intelligent but mostly ignorant humans wrap around life.

In a month’s time I’ve strolled through and held hands with the ghosts of my childhood on what once was my Grandparent’s farm, reacquainted myself with cousins, siblings, high school classmates and life-long friends.  Some of it was emotionally painful, some of it was extremely joyful but mostly it was a process of ‘fill-in-the- blanks’ connecting fragments of a past that was left dangling in uncharted time.  Going ‘home’ was indeed a homecoming and a completion of sorts.  Picking up where I left off, dusting off the grime of time, blessing the ghosts of my past and sending them on their way.  They are no longer wanted or needed.  I cannot save the world but I can align myself with my past, present and a future that’s, like it or not, on the down side.

I’ve seen more bald eagles in a month than I’ve seen in 30 years, sunrises and sunsets that only those who rise at stupid early hours and those who take notice in early evening are privileged to experience.  I’ve seen magnificent thunderstorms roll in, throw noisy thunder and lightning tantrums, drop their bounty of rain and move on.  I’ve seen mile upon mile of corn, wheat, soybean and hay fields, rolling green hills, jagged mountain peaks still clinging to snow or glaciers, the Mississippi spread beyond its banks, rushing mountain streams, cattle, bison, pronghorn, deer, raccoon and more species of birds than I can find names for.

I’ve slept in interstate rest stops, truck stop & mini mart parking lots, a Cabella’s parking lot, an abandoned road work job lot and delightful small town parks.  I’ve basked in the luxury of a few authentic campgrounds that offer all the water, electricity and waste you can consume and dispose of, groomed to perfection, trash receptacles all in their appropriate places, flush toilets and hot showers available to those who either don’t camp with these amenities or just don’t want to dirty their own tiny bathrooms.  We’ve also, through the kind hearts of friends and family, lived next door to those who’ll have us and I’m grateful beyond words for their generosity.

Each day brings new challenges, blessings and messages both crystal clear and buried deep within the endless layers of everyday habits. 

To say this summer’s journey has been life changing would be a gross understatement.  The wheels that transport us from point A to point B are also turning our focus toward a future path that previously was as invisible as the angels who have led us. 

‘There’s no place like home’ knows no boundaries when home can be any-place