...because it means something to me~
When I was home last, I told daddy about something I've always always wanted to do. I love my home. I love Turlock. And I wanted to photograph it.
I was so blessed to grow up surrounded by beautiful things, and I don't feel like I've ever taken it for granted. I have always loved looking at the fields of corn, vineyards of grapes, orchards of nuts and fruits, or rows and rows of whatever else we grow, not to mention all the cows!
But there are certain places I'll never ever get tired of seeing; places that mean "home" to me. Places that even now, thousands of miles away as a desktop picture, can make me calm just looking at it because of the memories and emotions of home embedded in them for me.
How many hundreds of thousands of times have I driven down Taylor and crossed over this canal...
...or taken puppers on a walk and unlatched the gate overgrown with ivy?
How many years has this been my view walking out my front door to go watch the boys play catch at the park, run over to the Falke's for a second, or meet mama as she comes in with groceries or daddy from work at lunch time?
How many seasons of harvest have I watched; measuring the what-seemed-like-daily growth of the corn until one morning you all of the sudden realize, "hey! they cut the corn down today!" (always pretending that some of it ends up at Raley's to buy, even though you really knew it was "for the cows")
And how many times will it take turning down this road...
for my heart to stop aching with that wonderful happy ache that you only get when you turn down the familiar road to home....
for me not to feel like I can suddenly breath deeply and properly again knowing that home is just down the road...
for my eyes to stop soaking up every bit of the land, like if I don't trap it all in my memory I may one day forget how the warm sun looks on the open fields...
Hopefully another hundred thousand times or more.
Because this is my home,
this is where my heart truly forever will be,
because it means something to me~
Memories, it is so fun to see all those familiar pictures. I hope the new semester is going well.
ReplyDeleteGosh you continue to impress me with your words, are you sure you don't want to change your career path and go into writing? Wow! that's all i can say. And I echo the sentiment you have about home. No matter where we end up in life Turlock will always be home and our prospective roads to our homes will always be a beacon of serenity. Love your post!
ReplyDeleteI love this. Every photo and every word. And, what a perfect photo of grandma and grandpa you snuck. My heart leaps up...
ReplyDeleteThis was precious. I'm glad you shared, and glad I got to see little pieces of your home. It's pretty cool to document...you have inspired me. :)
ReplyDeleteI tell people I'm from California the Golden State, John Muir's California (as opposed to the lush green Santa Barbara area or the evergreen forests of the extreme north). Sometimes, to differentiate from the beachy California I KNOW they have in their head, I say "no, I'm from Steinbeck's California, but just not as depressing." Love these photos--they are a gift to me!
ReplyDeleteI love these pictures! I have never seen your actual house or neighborhood- crazy! But this makes me want to take pictures of special places in Merced. But your camera takes awesome pictures!
ReplyDeleteWOW!! Again, such an AMAZING post! I loved it so much...and it captured so many of my thoughts perfectly :) Can't wait until we're home together again!!
ReplyDelete