Home is where the heart is...

That phrase adorns needlepointed pillows, hearth decorated wall plaques and kitchen stencils all over America.  We've all heard it, we've all said it but until recently I didn't really realize how it has dominated my life.

Yes, my kids are my world...my rock...my true center of being and with them, I am home.  However, there is something, and it is something I can not truly explain that happens when I cross the county line in Mathews County, Virginia and I am truly home.  It isn't just because the town has withstood the tests of time and I can still find my way around after 25 years...nor is it that the best friend I've ever known still lives there with her family...nor is it even that it has some of the most beautiful coast lines I've ever seen.   It is because my shoulders ease up every time I hear someone say "what can I get y'all".  It is because you'll never meet a stranger.  It is because when I call someone honey or darlin' or sweetie, it is common place.  It is because people there truly know me and love me.  It is because it is home.

After much consternation and finally blackmail by my 11 year old son, I made a visit there a week ago.  It was exactly what this heart both needed and should have avoided.  Needed because I was reminded of what I am looking for in life, what is important, a place where hard work, loyalty, family all mean something.  Where, while it isn't perfect and marriages still fall apart, there are more who are celebrating their 40th, their 50th, their 60th wedding anniversaries. 

But, should have avoided because it reminds me that what I am looking for doesn't exist in the Bay Area of California...or, if it does, is much harder to find.  The man who will love, adore, heck idolize me...while also understanding I need to be kept in check every once in a while, lives on the water in a small town 3000 miles away.  And, for the foreseeable future, that is not where I will be.

However, instead of dwelling on being sad, my longtime BFF and I have a plan...one that involves some poor unsuspecting single dad in Mathews.  One, who, in high school was the catch and now just needs to be reminded of that by some cute, almost sexy, California Virginia girl.  No, he has no idea there is this plot to find him Ms. Wonderful. But, it sure will be fun!

As I was going through security, the TSA agent in Richmond looked at my driver's license and said with a wink "Now that's a beautiful California smile" to which I answered "Thank you, but actually, it is a great Virginia smile, just living in California."  Now, don't forget to come back to this page, y'all.