As you read this today I will be away from home in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Circled on the calendar, this date is always special to me. It was just a week before I turned 19, the year was 1962........and yes, I am that old! I kissed my family goodbye, boarded a plane at London's Heathrow Airport - my first time flying - and crossed the pond to work for one year in Washington, D.C. I was not a gutsy girl who had traveled much. After the war people in England didn't have money for holidays and traveling to foreign lands. I did have a sense of adventure though. I knew I was meant to go places. I also had a serious boyfriend. My parents liked him but didn't want us to get married at such a young age, so encouraged me to spread my wings and fly away for a while.
Here it is, forty seven years later. I'm still not far from Washington but I've covered an awful lot of ground in that time. Water has run under many bridges, life has been full of ups and downs, but I never returned to England to live.
I've crossed the pond numerous times during the years. I kissed my mother, father, brother, entire family, and a hoard of much loved friends, hello and goodbye over and over again. I kept coming back to my adopted country, my very special husband, my American family and friends. I could say I have no regrets but that might be stretching the truth a bit. There are always regrets, whether one moves just a few miles down the road, or a few thousand miles across an ocean, when it means leaving home and loved ones behind.
It's said "you can't go home again". I'm inclined to say, "home is where you make it". With modern transportation it's not so difficult to drive a smooth highway for a few hours, or settle down in a seat for a night flight across the water. Your loved ones are always waiting for you.........so go while you can.
................and what about that boyfriend you ask. We are still in touch. He's still the nicest guy, and we meet up now and then when I'm home, across the pond.
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While in the mountains today I'll be meeting a very special blog friend for the first time - more on that later.
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