Sometimes Ya Need a Little Home

Brad and I recently ran up to my hometown of Canton, Ohio to play tourists for a few hours while the girls chilled with the grandparental units. 



William McKinley Monument, Canton, Ohio

If you have lived in an area for a really long time you should definitely play tourist for the day!

Remember all those field trips as a child?   For me and it was President William McKinley’s monument!  I have passed the dome in recent years without a second thought other than "Oh, there's McKinley's really cool lookin' monument."  It was time to go see it again.

Studly Mountain Man ready and waiting

President McKinley's monument is a pretty busy workout hub it seems;  It must be those 108 steps leading up to the monument that draws the fitness gangs.  Always up for the challenge, Brad and I ran the steps with that "I can do anything attitude", much like the little engine that could. Yep, we were pretty much channeling Rocky when he ran all those steps to the top to prepare for the big fight. When we reached the top Brad was ready for more, I was too busy looking for an oxygen tank.

Me wishing studly man would carry me down.

The McKinley Museum had a great collection of Victorian era photos from both DC, my adopted home, and Canton, my birth home.  Looking through the exhibit started out so innocently, and then the triggers began to hit.  We saw the pictures of two adorable children, and learned the McKinley’s were bereaved parents; They lost two daughters early in life.  It was specially noted that Mrs. McKinley never fully recovered from their loss, suffered from depression, and was diagnosed with epilepsy.  Ughhhh, there it is…the dreaded "E-word!" 

The fact that she had no surviving children and was able to be a wonderful first lady is an  incredible feat to me.  Not only was she able to do so much more than breathe in and out, she was able to be a pillar of strength to our nation when she became our widowed First Lady, following the President's assassination.  Amazing respect would best express my feelings.

Many of the familiar Canton landmarks I grew up with are now bulldozed memories, and you can see life is definitely tough here in a town once deeply rooted in steel and vacuum industries.  Nowhere was it more apparent then when we stopped by the church I grew up in.  The majestic red brick building with tall pillars too wide to get your arms around, was once so full of families and children.   Today, it is a shell of its former splendor; The parsonage where I lived with my family for a year, was recently sold to cover church debt, and the sanctuary which once held hundreds has dwindled to a membership of 30 clinging to their faith and their church.  The new parsonage owner, noticed me peering in the window and shared with me their current situation. 

Talk about making lemonade from lemons....even in tough times, they have welcomed a group of Romanian  immigrants in need of faith nurturing, and have given them a place to worship at their side.  They may be separated by language, but when the preacher preaches, and the translator translates, they all understand God’s love.

We were soon heading to the next thing on our list... Putt Putt Golf!  The course I chose is one I've been playing since I was child so maybe I had a little bit of an advantage...maybe.  Brad commented that I was much better on this course than I normally am. Hmmmmm, was that a compliment?  Of course I am....it’s not straight and narrow courses I like, but the swirly, upside downs and curvy ones where I do my best work.  Guess it best describes my life too.

After I kicked my future pro golfer's butt….a time or two, we stopped in to see  my BFF's mom to say hi.  Don’t ya just love visiting the parents of your best buds who love you and use terms of endearment such as “second daughter?” 

Brad drove me over to my high school  for a high school reunion meeting, stole my new cool phone to go play games, and  I met with four classmates aka "The Reunion Committee."   A few years ago, I picked up the reunion planning notebook and have been one of the planners every five years ever since. In an hour, we had a plan, so it was time to head back to mom and dad's.

Exhausted from our adventures, I managed to stay awake in the car, but fell asleep before my head hit the pillow exhausted but content...a cherished feeling these days.  Sometimes ya just need a little home.

Sometimes you just need a little home
A little "hey, you’ve been gone way too long"
Yeah, way too long
No matter how grown up you get
Oh, no matter how far you roam
Sometimes you just need a little home
Home sweet home!

 

~"A Little Home" Sung by Rascal Flatts

Hugs!
Sherri