I've been in Michigan for a few weeks, an unexpected trip to be with my family during an important time. It was a busy summer of work and kids and heat and life. I hadn't realized how much I needed to get away. My head needed space to think and process all the things our first year in Taiwan brought. My body needed a break from the heat.
My first day back, I sat on my parent's porch and breathed in the mown grass, fresh and green. Their backyard is an adventure in wildlife with squirrels running up and down the trees and birds fighting over seed in the feeder. I felt a sense of aliveness that had become dormant living in an apartment in the midst of cement and steel. I had forgotten how much I missed all things Michigan.
The town I grew up in has a weekly farmer's market where farmers and bakers fill tables to overflowing with vegetables and fruits. Piles of tomatoes in red, yellow and orange. Fresh peaches and melon. We came home with bread from the Russian woman, cinnamon rolls from the Amish and sweet corn on the cob from the man who goes to our church.
Over the weeks, the trees have begun to change from green to red. There's been a shift in the air, a cooling down, a crispness. A mug of coffee with a fresh apple cider donut takes the chill off the morning air. Mums and bundles of corns stalks appear on front porches, pumpkins sit on steps. Fall is coming, a season I love.
But I am finding my heart is turning towards home. I'm missing bubble tea and bonsai. I want to get back to the Doc. and enjoy my daughter's senior year. I want to walk through a market to pick out a an ornamental fish for my husband's terrarium.
A few more days and I will be on a plane. I've been so blessed that I could come back to be together. I will miss fall and football and family, but it's time.
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