My dad's family is from a place called Sand Mountain. There's no sand up there that I can tell because it's not anywhere near the beach, and it's probably considered more of a hill than a mountain, but it is part of beautiful North Alabama, and most of my dad's side of the family has been born, raised, and never left there. Since my brother and his wife are visiting, we took a drive up there today to visit with the gang. Every time we go, it's as if we've never left. Cousins stop by here and there just to see us. I always feel slightly chagrined when they come over to visit as if we are some sort of celebrities, but they always thank us for making the drive to the family homestead (it used to be my grandparent's home and now is inhabited by my dad's oldest brother and his wife) to make it easier for them to gather and chat together.
Mostly, we simply sit in the front yard and catch up on each other's lives. Of course, everyone else is intimately involved with each other daily as they all live within a few miles in their small town on the mountain, so where we live and what we are doing is always a topic of conversation. My immediate family has not stayed in one place after growing up in North Alabama like the rest of the family. We are all scattered across the states and even the world since graduating from high school and college. Those who never leave their home towns sometimes have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to leave, but I can't imagine not having seen the parts of the world I've been privileged enough to work and play in over the years. There's nothing wrong with staying close to home, but there's still so much world out there to view. For me, it has expanded my understanding of people and how the world works as well as encouraging me to love my life even more, realizing how blessed I am compared to so many others. I may have learned to dive in Alabama, but would have never had the opportunity to view planes from WWII on the bottom of the sea or swim with Manta Rays. I probably never would have found my passion in teaching English as a Second Language without the opportunity to try it at the College of the Marshall Islands on the island of Guegeegue without the gracious dean there who felt just my native knowledge of English was enough to teach developmental classes to his students before I even had my degree. I may never have had my island boys, and I definitely never would have met my California born and Oregon raised fiance without the call of the islands on both of us. My life has been shaped as much by my leaving home experiences as it has by my parents or my education growing up in Alabama. I am more likely to take on new experiences and go new places because of my willingness to step out of my comfort zone. My family ties will always bring me back to Alabama to visit and maybe even live again some day, but for now, I'm content to travel the world and live my small island life and look forward to more "out of the zone" experiences as I grow up! :)
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