A Trip "Home"

(The view from Tim and Mandie's back porch)

"So, where are you from?" has become an interesting question recently.  Specifically, in the past year and a half since my parents moved to Colorado.

Before that, the answer was easy.  Until I started college at Faith, Arizona was the only state I had ever lived in.  My family was in Kingman, Arizona, until the summer of 2000 when we moved to Tucson, Arizona.  Although we made annual summer trips to visit family and supporting churches in the Midwest, Arizona was home.

Now my answer takes several minutes as I have to explain that I am "from" Arizona since that is where I grew up, but that when I go "home" for breaks I go to Colorado where my parents now live.  Probably more information than the other person cares to know at that point.

Therefore, I usually fall back on the answer I gave for the first 19 years of my life.  Arizona.  I can explain the rest when Christmas break rolls around.

Those who know me can attest to the fact that I am an Arizona girl through and through.  I like the weather to be warm and dry (warm for me being over 70s); I love my mountains and cactus; and I don't know when spring arrives in Iowa because there are no lizards to tell me.

Because of this, I was almost ready to jump up and down in complete euphoria excited when the chance came to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Tucson last week.

The church here in Colorado was sending three teens to a camp in Eastern Arizona for a week.  My parents were quick to volunteer to drive them down.  This provided us with three days to spend with Tim and Mandie.  (The only downside was having to wake up at 4:30 on Monday morning to pick up the teens and be on the road by 6:00ish.)

It had been a year and a half since I had been in Arizona, and all I can say is that it was good to be "home."  The first sight of saguaro cactus sticking up from the top of a hill probably made me way too happy.  We went swimming two of the three mornings we were there, and the sun felt wonderful!  It was good to be in a city where I knew the shopping places, I knew the streets, I knew the weather patterns.

It was also wonderful to spend some time with Tim and Mandie.  My brother and I have always been close, and Mandie just adds to the fun. :) They even managed to discover a cat that is more of a scardy-cat than my own.

To be honest, I like Colorado; but it is not home.  I have no idea what I'll be doing after graduation next May, but I won't be complaining if God takes me back to Arizona.