Renewal

I said last year I finally understood what people meant when they said "they miss the seasons." As I approach my third year in the UK (of my planned two year visit) I can feel the cycles moving within me. I know the lambs are in the fields, the bluebells are in the woods; the UK is collectively blinking at the sun and shaking off winter's stupor, and we are all looking forward to a brief but glorious summer, made so only by the inevitable approach of winter.

Someone asked me last week if I felt more at home in Los Angeles or London, and after some thought I had to answer, "neither." LA never felt like home; I never put down roots (probably because it's mostly concrete). I am just beginning to put down roots in London, although at this stage, Jess and I are only constrained by external factors; otherwise we could go live anywhere. Even after all the work we've done to the house, it's still just a house -- it will be a while yet before we make it into a home.

But that's what summer is for, isn't it? To establish roots in order to weather the winter. The house is the first step, the first externalization of an internal process. It's going to be a lot of work, but I know the benefits and rewards will make it all worthwhile.