Remember lying on your back on the grass on a hot summer day and looking up through the tree branches above you? The ground was lumpy and cool. The grass tickled the backs of your legs. Bugs buzzed around your ears. And your skin was damp with the salty sour sweat of playing Tag or Red Rover. There was magic in that cool shade beneath those branches. Something solid and comforting…as if the arms of Mother Nature herself were protecting you from the great big world of adulthood.

Last night, I went to a concert on a hill overlooking town. A local musician opened and the main act was Ronnie Frugé, a true Cajun guitarist from the bayous of Louisiana. He told stories about his songs and entertained us for nearly three hours. I didn’t have a blanket, but I laid my head back and looked up through the trees overhead and remembered those days when summer was waning and the new school year loomed large in front of me.

I was always filled with this sense of change when I was on my back under those trees…a mixed feeling of excitement and dread. And that’s what I’m feeling right now. For those of you following along for some time, you’ll remember I came to West Virginia two years ago to care for an elderly aunt that needed help. It didn’t work out for either of us and I moved on to other arrangements. She hasn’t been feeling well lately so she’s visiting her brother and I’m going to stay at the farm for a while. This is the home of my heart, the place that has always been my “safe place”. Having to leave so abruptly two years ago affected how I saw the old homestead in my heart. I’m hoping by going back, I can regain some of the magic it once held for me. I want to connect with it again. So, I’m excited to go stay there. Yet, I’m afraid it will never be the same. I’ll just have to see what kind of magic I can work while I’m there.

And, here’s the problem. There’s no cell service on the farm. And, there’s no internet unless I drive a few miles away to the family cemetery, which I have no problem doing. But, I’m thinking I need to just….be. Be present. Be there. Be disconnected. Be peaceful. Be introspective. I need to write without distraction. And then I’ll be back Thursday evening to start my weekend of festivities for my high school reunion.

I’m going to spend some time looking up through the branches of my life…of my past…and just stare at the sky for a while. I know you’ll understand.

❤️

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.””

Joshua 1:9 NIV