Roots & An Anchor

I like to think of myself as a tree with deep beautiful roots that I could not live without. These roots are plentiful. Some of them are longer, thicker, and more life sustaining for me than others are, but they are all important. My roots sustain me. They keep grounded. They allow me to bend and sway. They keep me firmly planted underneath the soil so that I can stretch my branches out in all different directions above the soil. My root system is what allows me to have an adventurous spirit. My root system is what has allowed me to sprout from a seed to a sapling to the beautiful tree I am today. It will be what grows me into the wise old tree I will become in the years to come.

My root system is my family.

It is my mother, father, sister, brother, their spouses, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmothers, and of course, my beloved grandfather.

I love my family. Very much.

Without them, I could not live the life I lead. And although I know that some of them wish I could just stay planted in Ohio with them I am so grateful that they know that the wind calls me to other places and destinations. And that I must follow that call because if I didn't I would wither and the spirit that makes me like the tree I am would die.

I love my family more than I ever have because they have allowed me to take flight and seek adventure outside of the confines of my home state(s).

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One of my favorite things about life is that I learn so much as I go. I know that the pieces of my life are like one big puzzle. Sometimes I put a couple of puzzle pieces together and I can see that they are gonna make something, but I am not sure how those pieces fit into the bigger picture in the puzzle of life.

I love adventure. I think that is fairly obvious in the way that our family seeks to live our lives. I love experiencing new things and places. I love creating a community with people all over the country. I love exposing my kids to new people, cultures, ideas. I am passionate about adventure. It calls to me.

I am learning though that as much I need adventure I also need an anchor. I need a line that will allow me to explore and seek out all that my heart desires while quietly giving me a consistent place to come back to and recharge.

I need a HOME.

A HOME to me is like HOPE. It is something that I cannot live without. It is a feeling. It is a life force. It calls me, pulls me, sustains me. HOME is where my light shines brightest and best. HOME to me is more than just people. Because if that were the case then Ohio would be the place I would want to call home because my family is there. But I Ohio is not my home, so I know that HOME is more than people.

 HOME is a feeling. It is the place where I see God every day. HOME is where this adventurous heart stills - even if only for short periods. HOME is the place I want to come back to time and time again. HOME is also the place that calls me back time and time again.

HOME is the place where I do not care about climbing corporate ladders. HOME is the place where I do not care about fancy cars, houses, clothes. HOME is where my heart still. HOME is where I see beauty in the everyday experiences of life. HOME is wild and free. HOME is a come as you are welcoming feeling.

Just as like a tree cannot live without its root system. I cannot live without my HOME base. In order to be able to seek adventure from now on, I need a steady place to always come back to. But it cannot be just any place. It needs to be a place with a landscape that matches its people. It has to have a gravitational pull on my heart. It has to be a place I yearn for when I am not there. It has to be a place where I come back to and take a deep breath and know that I am home.

As Dorothy said, "There's no place like home."

Even if that means altering our lives off the path we had envisioned for our lives. I want to go where the living is easy, where there is beauty around me every day, and where my tribe of people are.

New Mexico is calling. I need to follow its call. I need to go home to Las Cruces.

#NewMexicoTrue