English Countryside

Last weekend I went with my British parents David and Gloria to visit their friend in the Norfolk area. The weather was beautiful and sunny, still a little cold mostly from the wind, but that is one of the best feelings. It brought back memories of hiking through the English countryside, through meadows, over mountains, into valleys, past sheep-loads of sheep-though there weren't any on the walks over the weekend. The memories were almost overwhelming and calmed my somewhat stressed soul. Nothing too big in the stress department but as with any big change in life there will be adjustments and sometimes I handle them just fine and other times I get tired. The walk through the country renewed by zest for life and tapped into my energy, which I had been keeping under control, thinking that would be the best way to get work done. I've discovered I don't do too well when I have too much time on my hands. I am best with structure and routine though not good at creating either for myself. So I need to be better at managing my time. Except while I was walking through the countryside I wasn't even thinking about writing, not directly. I was thinking about a dream I have, a lovely dream where I have a home in the English countryside, where I can roam as I please, write leisurely and not at an eight hours a day 40 hours a week type job, a dream where I am surrounded by green hills, fields lined with daffodils, where I can stand on a cliff at Tintagel or Tennyson Downs and lean into the wind and feel at home. Is it weird that there is something about England that feels like home? That feels like being here for only one year is not enough time that even a lifetime wouldn't be enough? Maybe that is weird considering I come from Utah and certainly this dream I have would be filled with people, I can't stand being by myself, and I haven't yet met that many people, not that are going to stick around here. Anyway. being in the countryside was lovely and just made me wish I could stay longer even though I am still going to be living here for at least another 8 months and shouldn't even be thinking about going home yet.

A few pictures from my weekend: