Home is a state of being; usually involving a  road trip, with coffee in hand.  Nevertheless, there are times when our heart just needs to hit the pavement and go. My Indiana roots have been calling to that still place within my spirit.  With the milieu, of my community changing, the ache for Indiana returned to my heart. My short road trip consisted of 490 miles from my current location in Iowa, to my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Majority of my family members continue to reside in Indiana. Every time, I arrive in Fort Wayne, I am greeted by parade of relatives. By family, I mean cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, siblings, and at times, even their pets show up. When I moved away from my clan; I felt a lot of sadness. While, I enjoyed being in Iowa, with my husband; I still missed the closeness of the family. There is an overwhelming joy that fills my soul, when I see these people. The kids fight to sit next to me, at the table. There are countless invitations for dinner, parties, coffee, etc.

Joy radiates from my spirit, during these times; however, humility reiterates its presence by reminding me that I could never repay these people for their endless kindness and love.  Reflecting on my life experiences usually fill my long drives back to Iowa. During this particular return trip, I began to ponder the impact my affectionate family had on me. A theme that emerged was my family’s ability to laugh and love each other throughout all of life’s hardships. These moments carry me through the darkest of days.

To summarize my short little road trip back home; the band, Third Eye Blind, has a lyric from their song, Deep Inside of You: “I’d walk with my own people if I could find them.”  I found my people. My people are my family and I am thankful to have found them.