August 13, 2006
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Coming Home
One of my high school girlfriends coined the word ro-tic (pronounced ROE-tick) for all those situations and settings that were so romantic, minus the man. You know, a boat trip, a sunset, or a lovely walk in the woods – that would be perfect if a man who loved you was participating, if you were a couple instead of a single.
That’s the word that came to mind when I arrived home yesterday afternoon. My husband, three sons and some friends are on our annual backpacking trip; thus, I came home to an empty house. The white board (the command center of our home) had a message waiting for me – lyrics to a song – that let me know, um, that my absent husband is looking forward to seeing me soon.
~ ~ ~ ~It’s good to be home. Funny, both directions of this trip were home-comings. The Chicago area will always be home to me, the repository of my childhood memories. But the people, the places, even the most fixed of landmarks, change while you are gone and only part of it is the familiar place you remember.
Home is this space where God has placed me. Home is the people I love, the jobs I’ve been given. It’s a good place to be.
~ ~ ~ ~The summer I was 18 was a betwixt-and-between summer. I felt dislocated and dangling. I was estranged from my father and step-mother, not welcome at their house. I had a place to go in the fall, but three blank months before me. I was in California without transportation nor the money to go to a sibling’s house in the Midwest. I worked at four or five different summer camps, traveled to play the piano in friends’ weddings and filled in wherever there was a need - really, wherever I could stay.
One week I was at a friend’s cousin’s mom’s house (a stranger to me) and broke down in tears, lamenting my “homeless estate”. I cannot remember this woman, her name or her appearance; but her words are burned into my brain. “You are in such a great spot, Carol,” she began. “You have nothing to hold onto but the Lord. Look at me – I have a nice home, a good husband, my children, etc. These are gifts but they can also be temptations to place my hope and my security in, instead of trusting God. God is your home, God is your refuge.”
Now that I’m home, I need to catch up on many things. My next year of school is sketched out, but I need to work on the details, type up schedules, revisit Algebra II, make sure I have all the books I need. Soon. Only after I sit on the deck with my man and talk and talk and talk and listen and listen and listen.“The perfect journey is circular – the joy of departure and the joy of return.”
~ Dino Basili
Comments (10)
**Welcome** home!
I rather envy your need to plan a school year. I do miss that.
Please tell me who Hans Schulz (??) is/was? You mentioned him with Vaughan Williams recently.
Janie
You are so right about the joy of coming home, regardless of the joy of visiting others or returning to the place of your roots. The quote at the end of your post says it beautifully.
You spoke of planning the school year and revisiting Algebra II. Homeschooling? That seems to be vaguely in my mind, but since I joined you relatively recently I may have gotten you confused with one of my other new cyber friends.
Glad you made it home safely. I’ve been planning away for our school year, too – hard to believe the summer is almost gone.
Welcome home, Dear Carol!
I can relate about planning the next year…With Criata done, my homeschool planning habit has gotten most of my Providence planning done…Yay!
Love the new word *rotic* I will use it right away!
Hope the conversation was heartwarming.
Blessings from, GA
Dana
PS You might giggle when you notice there’s a place set for you at my dining room table. So, whether you in OR, CA, or GA, it seems like God places people around you to feel like you’re *at home*
Welcome Home!!
I’ve been meaning to comment and tell you how excited (and a bit envious) I was to read that you got to experience Yo Yo Ma.
We began school yesterday, digging into Ancient Egypt and Saxon 3 to name a few!
Take care.
Sometimes I think the roe-tic moments are also good, because sometimes we enjoy them more.
HEather
Janie, I got the name wrong: I was thinking of Heinrich Schutz, whose work is not in the Trinity Hymnal but is in the Cantus Christi. I was thinking of Catherine Winkworth when I wrote that post – she translated many of the German hymns (see p. 887 of TH) – but that seemed such an obscure reference.
Yes, Dorrice, I am a homeschooler. I started in 1994 and graduated my oldest in 2000 and my middle son in 2002. My youngest has three more years of high school.
Dana, I was blessed to see the King Tut exhibit in Chicago – it was amazing to see how artistic and how well preserved the artifacts were. I’ll see if I can blog on that subject soon.
Welcome home. I can’t wait to hear all about the King Tut exhibit. I really hope Cassie and I can tag along with Terry to a conference in Chicago in October and go see it.
I share your feelings about going “home” and coming home. I love to visit my childhood city but nothing is the same as it was. Coming home to my family, my life, my home is always best. God places us where He knows we need to be, doesn’t he?
Blessings,
Sandy
Welcome!! You’ve been missed! I’m also getting things together for homeschooling the “little” boys. I am so excited- Joe’s not so much! :0) I’ve never had such leisure to homeschool in! No little babies, diapers, etc. Although, that is a mixed blessings. I do miss that aspect of life around here! But my sister is making up for that now, and so I still get to have babies and little people around. Glad thing.