Being back home after so many years has its good and bad days....I just will not go into what makes for a bad day but what makes for a good day is showing my family places that I fondly remember as a child.
This past weekend I showed my family(well at least part of it...one older child doesn't live here and one is just too cool to be with his parents) two GA state parks. Both state parks have held many a family reunion for both of my parents families over the years.
The first, Magnolia Springs State Park, is located outside of Millen, GA about 45 minutes from where we now call home. True to its name, the park grew up around a natural spring. I remember as a child, my much older cousins, swimming in the spring. Thank goodness my mama didn't allow my sister and I to swim in the spring water. Take a look what you find in just about all water in these here parts...
Now the turtles and even that ginormous carp don't really bother me but that alligator that's another story!! Thankfully, swimming is no longer allowed in the spring.
Two of my favorite guys...
I just love spanish moss and white sandy ground.
Moving along in our day, my youngest dude has never seen a cotton field. So we had to stop and pick a piece or two...
Next stop George Smith State Park located outside of Twin City, GA. This park is about 1 1/2 hours from home. When my dad was little his family would bring their corn to the mill and have it ground into meal. Of course it wasn't a state park then...
As you can tell, this water is dark and murky but I can promise you it is home to the same creatures that Magnolia Springs waters hold, just can't see them quite as well!! The water is dark from a chemical that the Cypress trees omit in the spring and summer months. In the winter the water clears up.
I have lived all over this wonderful world. I have seen some majestic places. There is nothing like waking up every morning and having a view of Mt. Ranier from your bed(well, at least when it peaks through the clouds) or falling asleep listening to the South Korean Army's version of TAPS, or waking up to thousands upon thousands of citizens of Beijing riding bicycles up and down extremely busy streets, hearing a pack of coyotes talking to each other as the sun sets, living in a home that sits on land that was once apart of George Washington's estate, Mount Vernon, eating a crossiant that is so light and rich (the best thing I have ever put in my mouth, by the way) while walking in a field in France BUT there is nothing that compares to home. A place where my ancestors walked, worked, and even fought...it might not be the most breathtaking scenery that I have ever seen but I have such a feeling of belonging here in Georgia that I have never experienced anywhere else.
I am home.
Do you feel that way about your home, wherever it may be, or am I just a crazy middle aged woman???
Fondly,
Ann
