Thanksgiving Break

I was blessed this week to be able to come home from New York for Thanksgiving. A friend of Helen's family donated me frequent flyer miles in order to fly me home for free, for nine days. It's been great! Helen got to meet some of my family for the first time and we were able to spend a lot of time visiting our families and mutual friends. Helen and I had our first double date with our friend Misty and her fiance, Sam. It has been appropriate to come home during Thanksgiving, as I am certainly thankful to be home and to be with our loved ones. I was telling my future brother-in-law, Jeff, what Dr. Ravi Zacharias once said, and it was very relevant to our circumstances: "Relationships give us a clue to meaning in life." I went on to quote a phrase of which I am fond of reminding myself, "after all, people are the only things we can take to heaven with us."

I cannot emphasize enough that I have very much enjoyed spending time with my fiance, our families, and our friends. Needless to say, I am not in a hurry to get back to New York. I love it here at home, not merely because of the quiet beauty of the South, but because of the people who I love.

The evening I arrived back in Alabama, Helen took me to a beautiful botanical spot, not far from her parents house in Vestavia Hills. She and I had had a "phone date" there before, but I had never physically been there. The name of the place is Aldridge Gardens, pictured above. Immediately, I was able to appreciate the peace and quiet there and the calming sounds of nature, of which I have been deprived for 5 months. You do not hear crickets, frogs, or birds chirping in New York City. You hear jack hammers, fire trucks, and car horns. Where Helen's parents and mine live, you can see the constellations at night. In New York City you can see Times Square's billboards and a haze over the city. On Sand Mountain, at my Mom's house, Helen and I burned a nice bonfire and had some hot, homemade cider. Fresh air vs. Times Square? Do I even need to make a comparison? It's striking to me to hear of the large amount of retirees who immigrate from New York. And where do they move? To the South, especially Florida. To each his own. So I guess all I'm saying is that I love to travel, but Alabama will always be home. Sweet home Alabama.