An attractive pair of individuals walked past my house a few weeks ago. It was soon time for the long yellow school bus to arrive at the end of the block and I wanted to be present when my sons descended the three stairs.
I wanted them to see me waving my "hello" before the bus came to a full stop.
As I stood in my front lawn, this delightful pair walked by, all smiles and sharing a pleasant demeanor between them both.
She was his mother, I would learn, and they are visiting this incredible city with so much history and incredible stories to tell! from where they lived, a little further south.
"Welcome", I had said.
Stopping, the man addressed the day.
"What a lovely day and what lovely weather", he said with a lovely white smile upon his face.
"What a great community and neighborhood", he continued.
He was dark-skinned, which made his teeth pop, and he was so cheery that his personality was magnetic. I knew instantly that liked him.
"This is a nice place to plant some roots and stay awhile, huh?". It was a question but it sounded more like a statement.
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How could he have known that only recently had we ever considered that this might not be the place for us to "plant roots" after all? It had not even been a consideration in the mind of Big Strong Man until recently- so very recent that the thought of picking-up and shipping-out seemed like the shock of the first cannonball dive from dry skin and hot sun into a pool of refreshingly cool water.
Still so new it had yet to breath on it's own.
And then this.
Was this man an angel? A prophet?
Was his walking through the community -my community-, a visitor on this specific day and during this very moment as I awaited the arrival of my offspring, a gift sent directly from Heaven?
Was this the answer to the questions we had only recently begun to ask?
Were we to remain and plant these roots- the exact verbiage B.S.M. himself used when addressing our home and city?
"I want the kids to grow up here. To know the same friends from elementary through high school. To know this place as home. I want us to plant roots and build our lives- here."
The uncanny use of this phrase, which Urban Dictionary defines as,
- how could this unknown man know to speak them?
Just as quick as I concluded that this was some sort of Heavenly intervention, the man continued.
"Or," he said, bringing me back to him and back to the moment, "a nice resting place before your next stop?"
The questions were asked within moments of one another, his quips only moments apart.
Did he have time to see my questioning? Did he know, somehow, that the first sentiment was said as conviction and the second threw me back off?
Was there a doubt in my eyes that compelled him to continue speaking?
Back-tracking in case, he self-deducted, he had said too much?
Inquired incorrectly?
It was time for them to leave, the mother and son. They had little time remaining on their vacation to this incredible city and they wanted to embrace it all.
Big Strong Man returned home that evening and I quizzingly asked him what it all meant.
The exact verbiage?
To stay (and plant roots) or to go?
"I think...", he began, "I think it means that we get to chose. We get to decide if we stay or go. It's not an issue of one is right and the other wrong: they are equals."
And I agree.
Heaven knows what will become of this place we call home.
This sweet yellow house I wish could be ours forever, but the city I already feel a release from.
I am a wanderer at heart- I know this.
Perfectly content to pack 'er up every five years and see what's next.
To all my friends out there, all of you will with wanderlust, here's to you...
and to all of you unicorns, indigenous to your hometown from where you hail and would never consider leaving, here's to you, too!
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