Tuesday, June 26, 2012

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

4 comments:

Pat said...

AMEN!
Beautifully said, Beth....me too.
But I am terribly excited to get to San Diego and all it has to offer.
Love, Mom

martyjoco said...

Hi Beth - PD and I have no family there either, and (now that Tudy is gone) no friends to visit, but we, too, go back whenever we are anywhere near the Finger Lakes. It is just about the most idyllic place I have ever been, and I have felt that way ever since my first stay: a few days visiting P's brother who was staying in a college professor's house right on the lake, on my way hitch-hiking to the big Watkins Glen music festival in 1973. That's 40 years next year! It's so special, the kind of place where you can hear bees buzzing nearby, and oars lap when someone rows by. Trust me, you will go back, and it will still be Aurora.

Me, You, or Ellie said...

sounds so lovely! enjoy your last-but-you'll-be-back night of vacation!

xoxoxxo

Jacquie

Me, You, or Ellie said...

Aw, how lovely. And, man, it sounds bucolic. And ideal. And, well, perfect.

And what lovely sentiments, MartyJoCo.

Hmmm. May have to get ourselves up there some day..... If nothing else, than to visit the dump.

xxEllie