"Back to the River St.John"

"At Woodman's Point tonight, are the lights shining bright? Is Kingston just the same? Do they still remember my name? Is anyone there missing me, where the water flows back over falls from the sea to the River St. John? This is where I belong. Where the land is so green, and the skies are so blue. Back to the River St. John, the only place I belong, back to the River St. John and you."
 (Back to the River St. John... by Janet Kidd)

I went back to the "River St. John". The lights, and the sun, were shining bright. Kingston was as beautiful as ever. People remembered my name. Family, and friends, had been missing me. It is where I belong, for it is where I come from. It is home. And always will be. No matter where I roam, no matter where I lay my head to rest at night.

I have a western home, with Paul and our children. We have good neighbors and friends. We love the mountains, and the sweeping fields. We enjoy world class concerts, national and world level sporting events... gourmet restaurants, funky farmer's markets, and sizzling summer festivals... skiing paradise, camping heaven, and golf galore. The 'west' is very good to us. And we call it home. We call it home, because this is where we 'hang our hat'.
Ahhhhhhh, but the 'River St.John'...

I believe we carry home in our hearts, wherever we go, wherever we stay.
And by home, I mean not only the place, or the house, we grew up in... but the people, the feeling, and the essence of belonging. Where our earliest memories were born, where our first friends were made, and perhaps where our first love bloomed. It's Thanksgiving dinner with all the family, it's the excitement of Christmas morning, it's baking cookies and muffins, it's a Saturday morning visit to the market, it's a Sunday afternoon drive in the country. It's picnics and swimming, it's winter and 'snow days'. It's orchard trips and apple crisp, it's Easter Sunday and a new outfit.

I've been 'gone' now for twenty years, but home is never more than a second away. A song on the radio, a certain whisp of a breeze, a photo in an album, a favorite recipe from my childhood, glimpsing the 'treasures' from my mom and sisters, that decorate my home, a funny card in the mail, or a  'just because phonecall'...
in a flash, I am home (in my mind) and I'm smiling and happy.

I just had ten (for real!) days at home, thanks to my wonderful husband and understanding children. It was fantastic, fantabulous, fabuloso, fantifico! (In case you were wondering still, it was GREAT!)  
I totally indulged in the love of family, the gathering of friends, the crisp country air, and the saltiness of the sea breeze. My soul is revived, and my cup of joy runneth over.

I have been 'back to the River St. John'. Back to where I belong.
And the memories will sustain me, 'til I return once more.


Keep on, keeping on... barb :)