I've finally made my decision....

[Blue Ginger]

After 3 years of working on the other side of the world, I'm going home.

As much as I love to travel and see new places, I'm tired. I'm tired of trying to find new jobs, new temp agencies, new places to live and new friends. I'm tired of being broke and having to rely on the bank of mum and dad just to eat. I'm just tired.

I miss summer and the beach. I really miss having my car and the ability to just drive where ever the road takes me. I miss open spaces and seeing the horizon.

I've seen some amazing things. I kissed the Blarney Stone. Crossed Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. Watched the sun set on the Aran Islands. Watched Ireland collapse and try to put itself back together again. Spent St Pat's day in Dublin pubs . Sat on the cliffs at the end of the world. Walked around a fairy ring.

I've seen London burning. I've seen London cleaning up. I've had a stranger help with my monster suitcase on the tube. I've seen strikes and protests. My first white Christmas and new year. Been in the front row for Pink at Hyde Park. Seen Elton John, Ray Davies (of The Kinks) and Paul McCartney live.

Stayed in a castle. Seen Loch Ness at sunset. Come face to face with a hairy coo. Asked what a true scotsman wears under his kilt. Gone on ghost tours. Walked the royal mile. Seen Ben Nevis when it wasn't covered in cloud.

Dublin and Edinburgh will always hold a piece of my heart.

I've seen so many things, but it's time for me to go home. I won't stop traveling. I just need to plant my feet on the ground again, so I can let my spirit soar.

[fireheart]

Stayed in a castle. Seen Loch Ness at sunset. Come face to face with a hairy coo. Asked what a true scotsman wears under his kilt. Gone on ghost tours. Walked the royal mile. Seen Ben Nevis when it wasn't covered in cloud.

So what DOES a true Scotsman wear under his kilt?

(a friend of mine used to be in a pipe and drum band. The kilts he'd rent out would always say "wear underwear" on them)

[dalesys]

So what DOES a true Scotsman wear under his kilt?

Nothing's worn under there lassie! 'Tis all in tup tip condition!

[Jester]

This is actually the way I feel. I want to go home. I want to feel the warm desert breeze on my face again, for more than a week or so at a time. I want to be near my parents, near my stepsister, near my best friend. I want to be within striking distance of Mill Avenue bars and Sun Devil Stadium. I want to be able to attend concerts and sporting events on a regular basis again without driving 3 hours each way. I want to drink Kiltlifter daily. I want my Suns and Diamondbacks and Suns to be the norm, not the exception. I want to be bathed in maroon and gold. I want to stand on University Bridge and stare down Palm Walk whenever I want, not just every few months or years. I want to eat at Salt Cellar and Rula Bula and to drink at Dos Gringos and Bison Witches. I want to drink and shoot pool at Pinky's on their silly but fun pink-felted pool tables. I want to be able to bike endlessly into everything and nothing, or struggle up the hill on Shea Boulevard only to be hurtled down the other side into Fountain Hills. I want to drink Irish beers in the courtyard of Casey Moore's. I want to climb A Mountain for the sunrise (if I'm awake that early) or for the sunset (if I'm taking a break from happy hour). I want to be able to go with my friend Cat up to Jerome to taste wine, and hang out at Four Peaks Brewery and Papago Brewery tasting beer. I want to see my angelic niece, her older sister my demonic niece, and her son, my great nephew. I want to meet my great nephew and have him know who I am. I want my angelic niece to have me as a regular part of her life, rather than an occasional visitor. I want to ride the light rail into Phoenix and party until I'm stupid. I want to see my old haunts and hang with my old friends, who, like me, are getting older.

I love Key West, I do. And I've loved my time here. And the minute I leave this strange, funky, magical tropical island paradise, I'll miss it.

But damn it all to hell, I want to go HOME.

[Eireann]

I want a home base. I want a HOME. I want my own house, which I own free and clear, where I can come and go as I please. I want to go to the coast and stand on the sand, watching the waves. I want to visit my favorite markets. I want to see all the tie-dye (even sheets!). I want to breathe the clean air. I want to take the Amtrak Cascades to Portland and spend the day at Powell's Books. I want to ride my bike along the miles of bike paths.

I also want a base in Europe. After so many years here, I want it to remain a part of my life. There are so many places I have yet to visit - Florence, the south of France, Corsica, Greece, Romania (Dracula country!), St. Petersburg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland...

As time goes on, I can see more and more what Thoreau meant by living life to its fullest. During the latest bout of depression, I remembered something he wrote in Walden - essentially, he said that you need to become completely lost to find where you really are.

[Rapscallion]

So what DOES a true Scotsman wear under his kilt?

A thin layer of lipstick.

Rapscallion

[Sapphire Silk]

I hear the sentiment.

But to me, Maryland the state where I grew up, is not a place I ever want to return to to live.

I'm here at Mom's house now, and all I can think about is getting back to North Carolina.

To me, home is where I hang my hat. But my childhood hometown was not a happy place for me. When I left, I never looked back.

So what DOES a true Scotsman wear under his kilt?

(a friend of mine used to be in a pipe and drum band. The kilts he'd rent out would always say "wear underwear" on them)

I remember the Bawdy Balladeers song about the Scotsman and his Kilt.

Well a scotsman clad in kilt left the bar one evening fair.
And could tell by how he walked that he'd drunk more than his share.
He fumbled 'round until he could no longer keep his feet
and he stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street

Chorus: Ring ding didde diddle i-de-oh, ring di diddley i-oh
He stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street.

About that time two young and lovely girls just happened by
And one says to the other with a twinkle in her eye
"See young sleeping Scotsman so strong and handsome built
I wonder if its true what they dont wear beneath the kilt!"

Chorus: Ring ding diddle diddle i-de-oh, ring di diddley i-oh
I wonder if its true what they dont wear beneath the kilt!

They crept up on that sleeping Scotsman quiet as could be
Lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see
and there behold for them to view
Lyrics www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/arrogant_worms/
beneath his Scottish skirt was nothing more then God had graced him with upon his birth!

Chorus: Ring ding diddle diddle i-de-oh, ring di diddley i-oh
Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth

They marveled for a moment, then one said we must gone
Lets leave a present for our friend before we move along!
As a gift they left a blue silk ribbon tied into a bow
Around the bunny star, the Scots kilt did lift them show

Chorus: Ring ding diddle diddle i-de-oh, ring di diddley i-oh
Around the bunny star, the Scots kilt did lift them show

Now the Scotsman woke to nature's call and stumbled towards a tree
Behind the bush he lifts his kilt and gawks at what he sees!
And in a startled voice he says to whats before his eyes
"(grunt) Lad i donno where ya been but I see ya won first prize!"

Chorus: Ring ding diddle diddle i-de-oh, ring di diddlye i-oh
Ah lad i dunno where ya been but I see ya won first priz!

[Jester]

Panacea, I agree that home is where the heart is, not necessarily where one spent their formative years. I myself did not get to Arizona until I was 17.

Arizona is HOME. Always has been, always will be. I discovered that fact just about immediately when I got there. And no matter where I've gone and where I've been, I have never claimed any other place as home since.

[firecat88]

I agree wholeheartedly with Jester and Panacea.

I was recently in North Carolina for my sister's wedding. I was born in North Carolina, though I couldn't actually tell ya how far it is between Andrews (where the wedding was) and Fayetteville (the actual city I was born in). The week that we were there was great, but as far as actually being in NC, there was never really a sense of familiarity and "I'm home". In fact, kinda toward the end of the trip, I was really longing to be back in Colorado and back in my own bed, which I've come to notice happens anytime we go away for a week. It's like "Is it time to go home yet?"

[XCashier]

I grew up in Phoenix, lived there for 38 years. Couldn't wait to move away. Now that I've been away for five years, well, I don't want to go back for good, but I sure wouldn't mind a visit for a week or two. I'm thinking late February, early March, before the weather gets hot. See family and friends, hit the Ren Faire, visit Bookmans, see how the place has and hasn't changed.

I do love it where I am now, and it does feel more like home than Phoenix ever did, but I miss my family and friends. I'm hoping we'll be well enough financially that I can get that trip in next year.

[Jester]

The Phoenix Ren Faire DOES kick ass. Especially after seeing the dinky little one they have here in the Keys. Talk about a world of difference!

[Mytical]

I hope you fair winds and swift travel on your way back home. Me..the place I grew up is not my home, where I am now..it is not my home. I want to get as far as I can away from here, and never look back. Finances and family may keep my body here, but my spirit..is in an entirely different place.

[Kheldarson]

I'm with my home. I was an Army brat growing up and the closest attachment I've gotten to a place is Virginia but that's mostly because I'm in love with the Appalachian Mountains. As long as I'm near them, I'm happy.

But people make my home. And I've chosen my new family well.

[Racket_Man]

I feel the same way as the rest of you posting on this thread.

I spent almost 30 years in my hometown of St. Louis. a career called me to Chicago and I spent 12 years there. I then moved to my current area and have been here for 9 years.

BUT

the one thing I always looked forward to was going back to St. Louis. It was familiar and I knew all the neat places to go and see. I also know some of the out of the way peaceful and (to me) spiritual places that are kind of off the beaten path. that town was my, if you will, touchstone, my renewal, my safehaven, my decompression chamber and my once a year refuge from my (at times) crazy life.

This time of year was when we/I went back for a visit. unfortuneately now that my Mom has passed there is no "place" to go and no one to really visit anymore. Financially I can not afford to spend several hunder dollars for a hotel room so I can once again roam the streets of my birth and childhood, feel the breeze of being at the top of a clliff on the banks of the Miss. River near Cliff Cave, never again walk the RR tracks along the Miss. River, never again to be able to roam the green hills of Carondelet Park/Forest Park/Zoo, and seeing how decayed my 100 year old HS is becoming, etc.

[Der Cute]

Hint: hotels are expensive - use hostels.

I miss Anchorage. I grew up there. Went on vacation from AK to somewhere else, and when I got home and inhaled..I immediately felt home and relaxed.

Living there? No. Visiting, yes. One of these years. The airfare ALONE is almost a grand. EEP!