Wide Open Spaces

This weekend I got a big dose of Pennsylvania! My boyfriend and I made a "quick" trip to Freedom, PA. What was to be a total of 18 hours on the road turned into 25 due to bad weather. On our return trip, we lost count of just how many tractor trailers and cars went off the highway due to black ice. I don't know how my boyfriend did it but he made it through 15 hours of driving coming back.

There is so much to love about this place, his home. Big hills, mountains, big trees and really big sky. Of course, the beauty is now faded but there are still traces of lush green Mountain Laurel, fields saturated with growth, and remnants of grassy rolling hills. If you close your eyes for a moment, you can almost see everything blooming and the smells and sounds of this place in the spring.

What really struck me was the sense of family that I got from this place. The togetherness and solid foundations that are all around us but we don't always get to see. Of course, the dysfunction of life creeps into conversation with concern, but in this wide open space, there was strong desire to "do it right" and make it really mean something. Kind of like a return to the way life and family should be. You don't feel that up here, or maybe it's just me who doesn't feel it. How weird that another place makes you feel like the pieces of the puzzle are first connected and built from this place. Tradition feels strong here. Again, maybe it is just me who has never moved past my own childhood traditions, built a family of my own and created those pieces of the puzzle that fit together. Was it selfishness on my part or just knowing that it was never the right time or right place. I think I lost that purpose somewhere along the way or all the paths I've taken made it seem impossible.

I hope I get to see Freedom in the spring, summer and fall because I know it will be beautiful in bloom. So much to explore....so much to make you feel good! I am at the end of my 2 classes this week....WooHooooo!! I need to play with my art supplies and get back to where I was 7 weeks ago. And most importantly, I've got some serious time to spend with the most important man in my life xoxoxo

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