Home to the hills

As we travel down the road that drives away and will follow us back home, no words can express how it feels as the mountains rise up to meet us....it has rained recently. Some highways are still wet, while other places show a few puddles. With an overcast sky, the sun only shows itself briefly a time or two. With no sun, the mountains are a richer green than they might appear otherwise....and in distant places there is a mist.

There is a mental mist that settles over me. Tears come to my eyes, but I blame them on my bangs getting in my eyes. It has been almost four years since I have been embraced by these green, green mountains of my youth.

I wonder what makes us the way we are. Of us children, I think I still feel a part of this land more than any of my other siblings that have moved away. For sure of the girls....my brother that lives close to Sarah feels much the same as me, but I am not sure it claims him as much as it does me. At other times, I think it is even more so with him.
So much has changed in some ways....in physical ways. The road by home has been paved....even the old rocky hill is paved. That is almost a miracle. Prior to paving, it was almost like trying to a car up a set of steps. No exaggeration. And if your car wasn't dirty when you turned down the road, by the time you drive a mile...it would have a thick coat of dust on it.

There are homes built in fields that I once played in...barns have burned down...fences have been removed. Other places have been taken over by a wild growth of weeds, bushes, and briars.

But the things that matter have not changed. People are still good neighbors, they are glad to see you, and willing to give a helping hand.

I must admit I hate seeing houses in fields I once was free to roam, but I still love the good hearted people that make up the majority of the population.
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We have been in Tennessee the past few days....I wrote the above and took those pictures the day I got there. I have been on line a few times, but never for very long and not on my on computer, so I did not mess with trying to post it till now.