Looking For America

I'm heading home to Michigan today. I've been in Alaska for a week now. Seeing my family, looking at scenery, driving here and there. And there are huge parts of me that miss this place terribly... But there are other parts, smaller, but in larger numbers, that need to go back to my new home. Back to Michigan.

I've established a life for myself in a completely different place. I never hear, "Oh, you're Mike Sweeney's daughter." or "How are your parents doing?" or "I haven't seen you in years!" I've built my own life. In a place that isn't intruded upon by ghosts from the past or visions from lives other than my own. There's something about that that I really appreciate. Something that I value and cherish.

But there's also something about the strangling tendrils of past history that appeal to me. The complicated web of family and friends and an area that my grandfather settled in to.

The big question is, though: Which one do I want more?