I guess my reflection should be premised by the fact that this summer I spent about 4 months in the Sonoma Valley of California. I was located in a quant little town in the Russian River area called Healdsburg. Being a warm weather girl I was in heaven with temperatures for the day ranging from 70-90. Not to mention the plethora of abundant wine at every corner. It was a wine lovers dream, and hey, the perks of saying I was a NoCal girl didn't hurt much either.
I took the experience for everything it was worth and to be honest, felt extremely brave that I moved 3,000 miles from the home, family, and friends that I knew and the security net that having them close by entailed. But ya know what? I made it work. I moved out to California with no job, no prospects, and took one of the biggest leap of faiths in my life. I made it work. I found a job working for a wonderful winery with wonderful people and learned a lot about marketing, customer service, and myself. Being young and ambitious, I couldn't ask for much more at that point in my life.
After 4 months, life got in the way as it usually does. The tough California economy got the better of me and I made my move back East. People always told me when you move away "you can't go home again." Who ever believes that must not be from the Finger Lakes. You can come home. You may not look at home in the same way as you did when you left, but you can for sure come home and have a much greater sense of appreciation for it than when you left.
Coming home for me was seeing GREEN. For those of you who have never been to California in the summer let me describe it to you as my Dad put it best when he visited me in the middle of July. "Everything just looks so.... BURNT!" California in the summer is a land of rolling golden hills. But yes, like Dad said, it's because it really is..burnt. No rain for 4 months will do that to a landscape. Coming home my parents laughed at me constantly when I kept saying, but it's so GREEN guys! The green, the lakes, the farm land and flowers; that's something you don't get in California and when I came home I appreciated it like crazy. Wine country, we have that here too. Warm weather..psh. I learned that boots and long underwear are a girl's best friend post a warm weather experience. Friends and family, those are life's greatest blessings you miss the most when away from home.
The moral of this long story kids, is that home in the Finger Lakes we really have it made. We have a beautiful scenery, hand crafted boutique wines at our finger tips, and most importantly amazing beautiful people; family, friends or both, who we can call up on a whim to appreciate all of that splendor with us.
That's what I believe is living embodies living life...Finger Lakes style.
Cheers!
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