The Seven Bridges Road

"There are stars in the southern sky, southwards as you go, there is a taste of thyme sweetened honey down the Seven Bridges Road."

Is it just me or is that song such a lovely example of a poetic nod to the place we can always call home? When I hear this song, it immediately makes me think of being in California. Yes, I know Steve Young wrote this about The South (capital T Capital S), but in my opinion, this song has such a larger applicability. We all have that place, whether it is the home we grew up in, or the city we feel most kindred to, or anywhere that includes THOSE PEOPLE that just make you feel ok, and comfortable, and when you are in that place, for just a few days, or even minutes, everything is alright with the world. We all need to have this type of home. Not just the place when your possessions reside, but when your heart resides.

"Sometimes there's a part of me, has to turn from here and go, running like a child from these warm stars down the Seven Bridges Road"

Story of my life much?

I feel like I've been "that child" for a long time now...Since last summer I've been thinking quite often about whether, and where, I will make a home. Do I want to stay in the UK? I really have no idea. Am I ready to move back to America? Possibly. Back to California? Again, I really don't know. Every time I hear about someone taking a big step in their life, like getting married, or having a child, or buying a house it makes me feel even more acutely how far I am from any of these things. But does that really matter? We live in such a large, complex world, why do I think that achieving these three 'milestones' will suddenly launch me into adulthood? I have a Master's degree, and numerous years of good work experience. I pay my bills and budget and save money, I travel and I try to do things that will benefit the future that I want. I'm not crystal clear on what that future IS, but I know that it includes travel, and learning, and growing a vegetable garden and writing a book.

Perhaps, like the fluid concept of "home", the concept of "grown-up" is something that doesn't have to be defined in a concrete manner. Perhaps being a "grown-up" is one of those things that no one ever talks about but everyone knows...they know that there is no such thing, and that milestones can be whatever you want, you can buy a house, have a marriage and 1.5 kids, or get three PhDs, live in a box for research, and give birth to another Middle Earth for a future generation to turn into a blockbuster trilogy!




So here's to the dreamers, and schemers, and mortgage-evaders! We need to run like a child from the warm stars of comfort every once in a while, because then when we come back, home really is sweeter...

<3 Kim