As summer stickiness turns into frost on my windshield in the mornings, I realize that this is the first time since 2005 that I have experienced autumn in Kansas City. Already wearing my Spanish winter apparel, I remember that we've still got 4-5 months of colder weather in front of us. I remember how nice it was to stroll along the beach in January.
I rabbit trail (something I've learned to control in conversation, but not in my own thoughts), dreaming about life in Argentina, France, Chile. I've browsed scholarships to do research in those places. Then I read about my friends who've moved to Spain. I accutely felt and feel their stress as they search for apartments, churches, friends. I do not envy having to relearn how to use a washer, negotiating customs, starting a new job in a place where you have no mental map of society.
In many ways, living in KC is a luxury. It's glorious to be able to stroll down the streets of childhood, to know that Antioch is one street west of Metcalf, to innately understand the culture of this place. Going to Brookside gives me a deep sense of being home.
Nonetheless, there is something about traveling, about experiencing a new place that I love. I love walking around the city streets and sensing out the mood of the city. Each place I've visited has it's own feel, and if pressed, I could probably describe them, from Tangiers to Paris, from Salt Lake City to Seville. I have not left KC since the first weekend in August. (well, I guess pilgrimage and Lawrence. Lawrence doesn't count does it?) However, that's the longest stint of me being in one place since... 2008. I traced back that far and I'm not sure that's even accurate.
Living in one place, even a place as big and diverse as KC (that's no joke), does take some discipline after traveling so much. I am not imagining new destinations or planning and packing. I LOVE not packing so much. *sigh of relief*
Home is where I am. Welcome home.
When I flew "home" (I don't think KC is really home yet, but I suppose it is as much as many places are for me) from Phoenix I realized it was the first time I'd been on a plane since January, when I went to see my brother in St. Louis. At the time I had been flying at least once every 6 weeks.
ReplyDeleteI continue my pattern of up and moving every 3-4 months, and wonder what it would mean to be rooted.
Also, I agree on the diversity and vast sprawl that is KC.