When Whoever's in New England's Through With You....

I'm a southern girl. Born in New Orleans. Became an adult in south Texas (after years of traveling). I miss the sticky heat, the drawl, the smell of good Tex-Mex food (heavy sigh), the fields of Blue Bonnets this time of year , the slow pace, the warm smiles, moss dripping like gray cotton candy off the branches, the warm pungent seductive aroma of the magnolias....the grits....ahhh the south.

But as I was driving to work this morning and the rain was trickling down my windshield, I could see tiny buds on the trees and tulips valiantly pushing their little green hands out of the ground as if to say, "hey, hello, we're back--spring is on the way."  That's the thing about New England.....the very distinct seasons.  The Spring that brings renewal, hope and a sense that you can start anew no matter what the past has dealt you.  The Summer with it's relative coolness and just a hint of heat so you can say, ah yes, summer.  Fall in New England, need I

say more.....crisp air, brilliant reds, yellows, golds and every variation in between as Mother Nature celebrates before bringing out her winter coat.

And of course, Winter, white, cold, blustery, sometimes frustrating, sometimes wonderland, always long.

I always learn so many things no matter where I live. The south gave me warmth in the air and in my soul. The north gives me hope and compartments of time in her seasons. Time to work through things and time in which to look forward.

I am trying as I've been taught--to bloom where I am. To savor my surroundings and dig in. To call it 'home' no matter where I find myself. To 'find myself' in the world where I exist at any given time.

Every place is beautiful. Every place is full of history. Every place has something I'll remember and miss when I'm not there. Every place a potential story just waiting to be written.

I'm a southern girl and I miss the south....but for now I'm a northern girl and I'm here till 'Whatever's in New England's through with me'. If the time ever comes that I go back south, on some morning when I'm driving and the rain is trickling down my windshield, I'll hear New England whispering (to paraphrase the song) "You know its not too late 'cause you'll always have a home to come back to"