Wednesday, June 20, 2012

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I know that it has been a long time since I last posted.  Holidays for both parents have passed, along with a few other events.  While I am not certain whether or not anyone has missed reading what I have to write, I am certain that I have missed writing it.  So here it is.

A few days after I made my last post, I headed from The City to Lafayette, Louisiana, where I formally received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English.  My beloved wife went down with me, and we were joined by my father-in-law and his wife, one of my uncles, one of my great uncles, one of my grandmothers, my brother, and my parents.  It was good to get to see everybody, and I was very happy that they could be with me to celebrate.

From Lafayette, we dispersed, with my wife returning to The City, my in-laws heading back to Arkansas, and my uncle and great uncle heading back to the Texas Hill Country ahead of my parents, my grandmother, my brother, and me.  I spent a couple of weeks in the Hill Country, relaxing and reminding myself of the circumstances in which I grew up.  It was helpful to reconnect with my upbringing, as it helped me understand better the person I am--a bit cliche, I know, but as true as I know how to tell it.

From the Hill Country, my parents and I went to visit my other grandmother in central Iowa, leaving just before Memorial Day.  There, I continued to relax, and I was introduced to parts of my heritage with which I had only been passingly familiar.  Family farms are still viable in that part of the world, and much that is held to have been only theorized by a great many people in my acquaintance are striven for and in some cases realized.

It is not wholly a bad thing.

I very much enjoyed my time away.  I rested much, did a few things, and ate both well and abundantly.  I was also very glad to get back home, to sleep in my own bed.

And now, even though I am on leave from work, I have things to do.

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