Coming Home

I sit in the garden of a home that my Grampa considered to be his second for the last almost 20 years. Blairgowrie. His favourite place in the world. 

I feel the same. It's my second home, and one of my favourite places in the world.

Earlier, I wandered through the woods, noting that it's impossible to ignore the extravagant beauty that has been left for me to discover. I am grateful. Home should be beautiful. I search for familiarity and find it.


I wander and wonder. How is it possible that my soul can also feel so at home in this place? I am peaceful. I rest, taking in the wonder that is Scotland. With a wet boot and a place to sit in the middle of a river, I find something to treasure here: my family.

There is a slight sense of longing: I miss Blaine, and I wish that he was here in this place with me. I also miss Grampa, for the last time I saw these sights, he was beside me.

But I have something new too...kinship with people who have known me my entire life, and whom I have known their entire lives. Seven people between whom are undeniable bonds, even more strong than just simple family ties. We became a family here.


And some new family members: Charles and Sue Collings. I met them in 2000, and felt like I was reuniting with family as I greeted them again. They loved Grampa, and he loved them. They offer that same love to all of us, and we take it, with pleasure! What a blessing to live in their home and be in community with them for a couple of days.


It might seem weird that the places in Scotland that I found treasures were not the places that I was checking off on my checklist. They were the places where relationships took top priority, where meeting people meant more than meeting history.


I have so much more to say.


To be continued...