The transition from travel to home is often jarring, a change in metaphorical (and sometimes literal) temperature so abrupt that I often find myself curled up on my bed unable to function for the first few days back in St. Charles. Hence, I’m grateful when I get a chance to taste home just before I actually reach it, to find the first homely house from my journey in the wild. This happened on my last trip to Florida, when my best friend drove to meet me in Nashville on the way home. Without those days of hanging out, I would have been dysfunctional for a week or more upon my return, but thanks to her, it was a smooth transition. I’m hoping the same to be true of this trip, only this time, that segue is courtesy of the Magruder family.
In a much earlier blog, I mentioned that I meet lots of friends on my trips, but never family. Now, I’m back with the extended family I’ve known all my life, and for the first time since I left home, I feel myself letting down the careful boundaries that I put up when I travel. I’m not a guarded person, generally, but I have a part of my mind that constantly tries to maintain my balance, to make sure my feet are firmly planted on the ground. How does that worldview conflict with my own, and what can I learn from it? How will this particular small action affect the way other people understand who I am? How exactly does our theology differ? What paradigm do I take for granted that they don’t? What do they mean by “the meaning of life,” and how is it similar and different to my own definition? That part of my mind gets tired, and usually takes a break when I’m alone. However, there are few greater comforts than, after a long absence, coming into the presence of people who actually Know you— your past, your personality, your parents, your perspective. For the first time in eight weeks, I can completely let down my guard.
Last night, the whole family— Uncle Kerry and Aunt Candace, Rachel and her husband Stephen, Hannah, and Susanna— sat around the dinner table and asked me questions about my travels. I gave lengthy answers between bites of hot dogs and baked beans and salad, knowing that they actually wanted to hear “the long version” of my trip. I’m already rehearsing the answer I’ll give back home to most people who ask how my trip was: “Eye-opening.” If people want to know more, they’ll ask. Otherwise, the single-word answer will satisfy them.
Right now, I’m sitting in a spacious living room with huge windows looking out into a forest (an actual forest, with trees— deciduous trees— and grass, and the air’s a bit humid— oh! did I mention the grass?). I’m curled up on an overstuffed chair, rocking gently with my feet bare against the finely-textured tile, wearing shorts and a clean borrowed t-shirt while the rest of my clothes are in the wash. I spent the whole day catching up on my blogs, working hard but at a leisurely pace. The Magruders have given me the chance to gather my thoughts, to consolidate all the themes that have run through my life in the past eight weeks. I have one more full day tomorrow, and then on Thursday, refreshed with a Rivendell along the way, I’m heading back to the Shire.
~Lisa Shafter
Money spent today: $0
Deficit: $133.31
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