Heartstrings

Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco but mine is scattered all over the country. A piece of my heart resides in Redmond, Washington, while another chunk is in San Diego. There's a piece in Whittier, California, and one just landed in Atlanta, Georgia. Yep, you guessed it. My adult kids live all over the place.

The Seattle skyline. Can you find the Space Needle?

                                            
                   The high desert of southern California.
                   Fall colors and snow on the mountains. 

Coastline of southern California.

                                 
                                                          Springtime in Georgia.

Isn't it interesting, we raise children to be independent, and then the little turkeys move away. Go figure. I can't complain because I did pretty much the same thing years ago.

My heart is in other places, too. I bought daffodils from the grocery store yesterday. As they opened up and turned their little trumpets towards me, I sensed a bit of Ohio. I grew up in the outskirts of Cleveland and daffodils were my favorite flower. They popped up in early Spring, just to reassure us Winter would not last forever. I hear Ohio daffodils got snowed on last week. That happens, too.

A piece of my heart is also in Virginia, where my grandparents lived and my parents grew up. I have southern roots and my taste for fried okra and corn fritters proves it. And then there's New Jersey, New York, Maine, and Chicago. Oh, and Wisconsin.

I left a portion of my heart in Michigan where I spent seven years, attending school and adjusting to married life and parenthood. My husband and I moved to Arizona in 1969, but promised to return to Michigan after five years. Obviously, we fell in love with the Southwest since we're still here.

We are products of our pasts. Where is your heart located? Is it scattered across the globe or centered in one area? Are parts of it with loved ones overseas or are you blessed enough to have most of your family nearby?

A song that touches me is the one from the animated movie An American Tale. The song. Somewhere Out There, sung by a lonely little mouse who misses his family, talks about being under the "same big sky" with the people he loved.

Click here to read these moving lyrics. It may help if you're missing someone special who is far away. Maybe you're that someone who is saying a prayer for them.

Just for fun--or fright. A bear visits a back yard in Redmond, looking for chocolate!