Going Home
The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. - Maya Angelou
In the early hours of this Monday morning, I have California on my mind. Most specifically the beaches of Los Angeles. Now it would be hard to be just about anywhere right now and to not have heard about the horrendous apocalyptic fires that started last Tuesday in Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Fires that continue to burn as of this morning nearly a week later.
Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley in a little town called Sunland, first became my home when I was two years old. My mother, who was raised in Kansas City Missouri, got her first taste visiting those beaches that lay just beyond the valley when she was as a very young woman vowing to permanently return one day. And indeed, she did, return with my father, brother and sisters in late 1950’s.
She lovingly made that beautiful part of California her home until she left the planet in 2009.
While my mother adored California, I felt that same calling to the mountains of Colorado in my early 20’s and have been here ever since. However, my love for Southern California (most especially the beaches) will of course always be a part of my heart and soul.
In fact, after many summer visits over the years with my children, now grown, they have both planted their roots along the ocean in San Diego.
I grieve for so many others that have lost their homes, businesses, and sadly for some their lives. For all the animals and wildlife, and for the land itself that has taken such a beating.
At the end of the day, home is the place that calls to us for rest and recharge. This is where all those who are homeless in any way or means lose their connections with this most important element. And it’s not just the “stuff” we possess but the love that goes into making a home truly a home.
As Maya Angelou shared in today’s quote, we all ache for that safe place we have the privilege to call home. Along with the 1,000’s of homes lost are the small businesses. Those small businesses also represent home and livelihood to both owners and employees. It’s unfathomable to think about all those who lost both.
There is no video this morning. I have been struggling with a nasty cold that took my voice over the last five days keeping me from finishing the video. I encourage you to subscribe to my You Tube channel, and you will be notified in the days ahead when you log onto You Tube when this video comes out.
There are days when we all feel we are walking up a very steep mountain. It is the love and caring from others that can greatly ease the climb. Here’s to the week ahead of putting out fires both real and metaphorically as we carry on.
Onward we grow,
Cheri
Cheri Ruskus
Author, Creator and Growth Mentor
PS. Today’s top picture was taken many moons ago at a little beach we have loved to visit at an inlet that is somewhat hidden away in Malibu appropriately called Paradise Cove.
