Musings from 1st July 2001 - 20th anniversary of our move to the US and gently edited to reflect thoughts from our 40th year!
I never really planned to move this far away from "home." That would be the home and town that I grew up in and to which I have returned frequently over the years. It is there that you share in the family memories, eat comforting foods in familiar surroundings, and discover a false sense of stability in an ever changing world. Somehow over the years the word home has morphed and expanded its meaning to encompass the homes that we have lived in here; ones we share, create and shape as a family to ensure a safe and welcoming space.
I never really meant to stay away this long and vaguely responded to questions about when we were coming "home" to N. Ireland or if we felt at "home" in the US, being unsure if they were suggestions, criticisms, or encouragements. They also involved a lot of soul-searching and potentially challenging decisions. But somehow day by day the weeks became years and the three years of the appointed time slipped by, only to be followed by a move and the birth of our American daughter Lyn who provided some roots. Birthdays, school years and anniversary celebrations rolled by until 20 years had passed - and now incredibly 40* years! And frequently I ask myself how did all those years slip by? What happened to them? A quick look in the mirror would actually confirm what my brain is reluctant to acknowledge, but it's about more than a number. The sunny summers and the golden autumns, cold and snowy winters followed by magnificent flower-filled springtimes passed and passed again, all filled with life's experiences that somehow strangely felt as if they were new each time around.
There are many memories of a life lived between cultures - each one enriching or slipping into the experience of the other. I'm often surprised to discover that I'm still here: I'm surprised when I drive busy American roads, share experiences and communicate seamlessly in real time with friends and family members overseas, talk with my daughter who puts me right on things I may have missed in this crazy news cycle, and when daily I find the unfamiliar in the familiar as when we remind ourselves to put the bin out for trash collection and put things in the post to mail!
I realize then we have always been at home because it is the place we carry nostalgically in our hearts; it is in the memories of all the accumulated experiences that we box up physically or mentally to transport to each new destination; it is where we find ourselves at the end of the day––either here in our physical home or on an extended vacation or visit overseas. So, after much thought once again on this momentous anniversary, less philosophically but more practically minded I can now also attest that, "Home is where the wi-fi connects automatically."**
*We recently came full circle and returned to our first American hometown in Huntington WV to watch our new grandson grow and spread our American roots deeper. But as they say here, " That is a whole 'nother story.... :)
**Quote: ~Internet meme https://www.quotegarden.com/home.html
Updated July 8, 2021
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