*Goodbye, Virginia!

As I watched the sun come up in the east, I realized I would be leading the sun home as I traveled back to Utah on Southwest Airlines.  I watched out the plane window as the treetops became smaller and faded from view, and finally closed my shade so that I could rest.

We had gotten up at 3:30 to make it to the airport shortly after 4:30.  At the time, I was worried Bridger would think I was crazy for making these travel arrangements the way I did, but when we touched down at the Salt Lake City terminal before 11:00, I was grateful to be home and still have energy to tackle the laundry that would spew forth from our luggage.

The week had been eventful:  sightseeing in D.C. with my youngest,  family dinners, a day at the spa with the bridesmaids, my sister's wedding, and a potluck luncheon with my high school girlfriends.

Our family is divided up across three states:  Idaho, Utah, and Virginia.  I love all of these people so much  We're all a little silly, slightly sarcastic, and very loving.  It was a wonderful gathering everywhere we went,  with hugs, laughter, and camaraderie.  It was so good to be "home."

It seems we would just light somewhere, start to get settled in, and it was time to take off for our next destination and event.  There is a part of me that realizes it is good to leave while still wanting more. That's so much better than the opposite:  being somewhere you wish you were not.  I never experience THAT when I go home, but there are so many places I wish I were.

Now that I have slept in my own bed with my  Boston Terrier snuggled in by my side, I am glad to be where I am this morning.  I woke up to clear skies and dry air and cool temperatures.  This southern girl has called Utah home for over three decades now.  The desert is mine now, but I'm always grateful for a trip to the oasis that is Virginia, for the people and my memories of that beautiful state made me who I am today.

Goodbye, Virginia, until my next trip "home."