This weekend provides me with the first long weekend and short term vacation of 2008. I don't think I've looked so forward to getting away from it all since I've arrived in the UK. And what am I doing with myself? Well, as plans of retreating to a monastery to run to a few days in the life of contemplation have imploded, I've settled for the next best thing. My Tennessee buddies in Nairn, curry, chick flicks, wireless and all the books I could consume in a month. As much as I longed to get away from American culture, I can't help but feel a touch of comfort in their presence.
It's good to get in touch with your roots once more. Last night I attended a wedding and found comfort in the country music the overly talkative relative dj played. I'm a sentimentalist to the core, and when I'm away from something, I yearn for it. Like, now I yearn for Franklin and friends and American cooking, but when I return home, Scotland and England will call me, and I will wish for it's cold and rainy frontier all the more. The grass is always greener.
But the cool thing about roots is that they can be replanted. A plant can literally be halved and moved to a different place. Though I long for my other half in Franklin, that longing will never be fulfilled, since when I'm in Tennessee I will be longing for my other half that I left in the UK. That's the curse of growing, I suppose.
My kids here have officially adopted me as a daughter of Scotland. I claim that title and shall cling to it. If I can find some Welsh ties, I will be a child of the entire UK. I have found a distinctive love for a man in a kilt. There's honestly nothing quite like it. You may laugh and scorn for the moment, but one day, if you ever get the joy of experiencing this liberating love, you will understand our enthusiasm.
The Scots never cease to amaze me or delight me. In fact, I've become so used to the accent (I can even interpret Glaswegian for you) that every time I hear any English person, they immediately sound posh, whether a Scouser or chav or what. I fall more and more in love with this country every time I return to it. It has a piece of my heart forevermore.
In the next 2 days I plan to spend some much needed time seeking the Lord and clearing away a bunch of garbage and jarble that has broken into the path. It's like I need a white washing, and I'm really looking forward to getting it. I'm learning a lot of life lessons here, and it's definitely time to sit down and process them, take what I've learned and apply it to my plans for the future.
And hopefully watch a bit more rugby while I'm at it.
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