‘Home.’ It has become a word that needs a footnote in both writing and discussion. ‘Home’ as a location is now transient for us. We call ‘Dyna’ home, but we keep moving her. In this sense, home has been a dusty RV park in Utah. A paved 50x30ft spot crammed between travel trailers in Texas. A plot of BLM land without other human life forms for miles in New Mexico. That form of ‘home’ keeps changing. We all know ‘home’ as a feeling too; in my heart, I know much of ‘home’ for me is still at ‘home.’ That ‘home’ is Western New York. For me, it spans from Rochester to Owego with a few pit stops in between. But when we recently were ‘home’ (the NY version), I found myself missing ‘home’ (the Dyna version). When I’m in our ‘Dyna home’, I miss our ‘NY home’. Home has become a wonderfully tricky word.
I forgot how good it feels to be able to show up at a favorite watering hole (knowing how to get there without GPS) and have friends show up and know exactly where to find us, at the same tattered booth we always sit. To have friends understand that yes, we will be ordering Cajun Tots, yes, they are a food group in themselves, and yes, they are for everyone. And then much of the conversation will pick up right where it left off before we left this ‘home’. We don’t need to preface our tales of conquering the world with a background story, because these people already know it. Many of them were there for events that shaped us and gave us the wings to venture wherever our wheels are pointed. And if I did attempt to tell them ‘our history’ many of them would probably correct me of errant details or events that I have forgotten. They already know that I once spent a month only eating things that were ‘dinosaur themed’ and that I have special ‘Googling’ talent beyond any of your wildest dreams. I never have to ‘check myself’ before I make a comment relating to ‘poop’ (yes, I still think poop is hilarious). There is a sense of ease; so little energy has to be expended on these most of these relationships.
Road friendships are truly another type of gift. We have met some insanely awesome people on the road, and I hope our paths continue to converge. Road friendships are different, but I don’t think of them as ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than the friendships we’ve spent years nurturing with friends back in our ‘NY home’. The people we meet and share pieces of ourselves with on the road are shaping our lives in entirely new ways. Our perspectives are molded by the stories we hear. We find ourselves questioning ideas we used to take as ‘fact’ and exploring new concepts we never even knew existed. It is excellently intriguing, and sometimes exhausting to make a new friend. It seems to me it takes a lot more energy to begin a friendship than to maintain one. We really enjoy trying to figure out who these new friends and the role they are playing in our life. When we meet someone new, we sincerely look forward to learning more about them and their experiences; but that comes with the trade-off of ‘ease’. Studying and learning anything is often exhausting, and we’ve found studying and learning about new people all the time has the same effect. We learn some of the most interesting, important, and also ridiculous things from these friends. And as I’m sure our new friends must do, we have to choose what and how much people know about us; these relationships don’t benefit from the luxury of time. And then, sooner than later, we part ways to each continue on our respective adventures. We might not see these people for months, or years, or maybe we’ll never see them again. It’s strange. Sometimes we feel like we’ve formed some strong foundations for friendship, and other times we’ve just enjoyed an evening of ‘shooting the sh*t’. But I think of almost all of these ‘road friends’ as we venture along our path.
I will let you know that the above was complete bullsh*t and the real reason I miss my ‘NY home’ is because of Wegmans. For those of you who don’t know what Wegmans is or don’t have the opportunity to shop there, I am so very sorry for you. For those of you who have access to the dreamland that is Wegmans, no explanation is needed. We have been traveling the Mid-West for 6 months now; I have yet to find a store that is half of that greatness that is Wegmans. In case you would like to debate this fact, stop. Is the earth flat? Let’s debate! Wegmans being the best? Yeah… no. Don’t even start.
