Exiting the Lawful Allegiance

Well here we are. It has been six weeks of some school and a great deal of enjoyment. I was walking across the gravel here at Downing College a few days ago and realized I was ready to go home. The most recent Bon Jovi song, which has been a hit on the country charts, has a line that goes, 'I'm a hometown boy born a rolling stone." I think I am the opposite. I was born in Cleveland, lived in Starkville, started school in Fredricksburg, Virginia, grew up in Meridian, I went to undergraduate school and worked in Jackson, attended law school in Oxford, and spent six weeks in Cambridge, UK, but I will always be a hometown boy. At one point I described my summer in Washington, D.C. as very nice, but I felt like I needed to go home to recharge my batteries. Well, I am down to 1 bar.

To Nicole's credit, she has wanted to be home for a couple of weeks now. I think that as we think of ourselves as cosmopolitan, the reality is that we are at our best when we are in familiar surroundings in comfortable places. It took longer to warm up to Nicole's wish to return home than I am sure it will be to warm up once we return to Jackson.

Our trip has been one that can only happen once in a lifetime. I believe we have truly made the most of the opportunity we were given. Did we expand our horizions? Most likely. Did we enjoy ourselves? Most definately. But, now the end is near. The trip has to end. If it didn't end, it would merely be life rather than an adventure. In order to truly enjoy it, it must conclude, and so it has. We will be entering a decompression chamber of sorts tomorrow, staying at a Holiday Inn. Then it will be on to Charlotte, N.C. where we will be one time zone away from the home one can only appreciate after being away for so long.

Even though the trip ended, the blog will go on. It will however change from a travelogue to just a log of my thoughts and events that strike me in the world. As a warning, if those reading the travel updates are bereft of a sense of humor or common sense, you probably will want to discontinue reading now.