Aurora

Ah, vacation. It's so nice to get out of town, to change my point of reference. To disengage from work, to unplug from everything except a quick email check once or twice a day. Somehow it's already my LAST night if vacation, though. I'm not exactly sure how that happened. I feel as though there is so much more to do, to see, to visit. We do have until tomorrow around 1 pm, but Lordy knows it will take me a good long portion of the morning locating and throwing all the dirty clothes into suitcases. I thought I'd feel a bit more desperate about leaving than I do though. You see, I'm visiting my home town, the one and only Aurora, NY, and it's too soon to leave, I'm slightly biased, but really this has to be one of the most amazing places to grow up. Ever. Lock your home? No. Lock you car? No. Let your kids run free, of course. Crime-wise it's decades behind, which is so liberating. Scenery-wise it's picture postcard perfect. It honestly looks fake sometimes. The lake, the stately old homes, the puffy white clouds, picturesque barns, trees and green rolling fields. Is my mom really selling her home here? Will we actually NOT be returning next summer? The house IS being sold, and plane tickets will NOT be bought, it's true. And that sucks, but for whatever reason, I'm okay with it. I'm okay with it not because I'm ready to let it go, but because I'm so confident that my departure tomorrow will not mean letting it go. I'll be back. Next summer? Probably not But be back I will. My father was born and died here, as did two of his brothers. I was born here, and although I don't plan to die here, I do plan to return. Plenty. My girl asked me this morning if I was really sad about leaving; she sure didn't want to leave, but when I told her I wasn't, and why, she agreed. She felt the same way. And yes, of course she'd be back too. So there you have it. We're leaving, but not for good. And if anything, Aurora will probably only be more beautiful when we return..... Sent from my iPhone