Homecoming

Ten years.  Has it really been ten years?  I remember driving up the county road, climbing higher and higher.  The trees beside me were lit with the magical light that comes near sunset.  Their tops were touched with amber and gold, the trunks shrouded in deep gray and purple.

When we reached the top of the hill we got out and looked around.  Breathtaking.  That was the only word I could think of to describe what I saw.  For a full 180 degrees I could see hills, and houses, and fields full of cows.  One lone tree stood in the west.  A massive oak with bent branches and fluttering leaves that seemed to be guarding the place.  We walked around the field a little as the sun was going down behind the hills of Caney Mountain.  I don't think we said a word for a long, long time.

I turned to Andy and nodded my head.  Yes.  Yes.  This is where I wanted to be.  He understood what I said.  The feeling was mutual.

And as we celebrate our tenth year up here on the hill we are thankful for the chance that has been given  us.  A good life.  Good neighbors.  Wonderful places to explore and use.  All this beautiful  vista that unfolds before us.  It changes by the hour, the day, the season.  Soon it will be fall.  Then winter,  Then spring again.  Fulfilled.  That is how I feel.  I wouldn't want to be any other place in the world...but up here on top of the hill.