IT AIN'T EASY

Grand Haven, Michigan: the first week of March and I’m back in the world that always makes me feel at home; it’s a good feeling. In my office here at Coffee Grounds coffee shop on Washington Street, it’s a clear, sunny Sunday morning. The last time I sat here writing it was full summer; people heading to the beach. This morning it’s clear but there’s an edge. Pedestrians have their collars turned up and their pace belies, too many rpm’s to be a stroll. There is a short phase in between winter’s dirt veneer, born of melting snow and the first welcome rain. ‘Bluster’ is that short 5th season that bridges a careless winter with a reluctant spring. Maybe today is the 1st day of Bluster. 

Before I left the house, my brother by a different mother told me the winter hadn’t been all that bad. I took that to mean nobody lost any fingers or toes and the chickens are still laying. I still struggle with the idea that ‘Home’ is a place where your roots are nailed to particular, GPS coordinates. I think ‘Home’ is a feeling you get when you can close your eyes, take comfort in the moment and truly appreciate whatever it is you see when you open them again. It ain’t easy being an exception to the rule. Kermit said it very well, “It ain’t easy being green.” I never expected anyone to see the rest of the world through my eyes, only to accept that my eyes are the ones I have to trust. Still, the Left Coast of Michigan has coordinates, I can’t take it with me when I roam. When I cross the state line, coming or going, I smile and honk the horn. Sometimes I call a friend and share my Michigan connection. Maybe home is simply the place where you get that feeling, easier, sooner than wherever else you might be.

I’m rambling. I do that when I try to reconcile ideas with feelings and facts, wanting to nail down loose ends and leave those ends alone that can’t abide with nails. I’ll ramble again but for now, in every sense, I’m getting a strong dose of home.