Homecoming

The term "home" has a very loose meaning for me anymore. After moving eight times in the past four years and not having lived in my hometown since age 17, I feel like I have many homes. One of those is certainly Versailles, Kentucky, the town that I left on May 20 to return to Brantford, Ontario, where I grew up and lived for 17 years.

Leaving Kentucky was bittersweet; there was a part of me that was looking forward to seeing the family and friends that I parted ways with on January 4, 2010. But a large part of me was also very sad. Kentucky was a wonderful stop on my world travel agenda, but it became much more than that. I learned more than I could have imagined about life, choices, and change. I laughed a lot, cried a lot, and made friends for life. But most importantly, I made some amazing discoveries about myself, and I'm so glad I took the chances to do that. I am slated to return to Lexington from January - July 2011, and I'm already counting down the days.

I left Versailles around 2:30 p.m. on May 20, and arrived in Brantford at 11:30. The high point of the trip was stopping at the first Tim Hortons on the route in Dayton, Ohio. There is no cup of coffee like it, and it's been a long five months without it!



Upon crossing the bridge into Canada, I was reunited with Canadian country music. Two songs came on the radio not long into Canada that really struck me: Home (Paul Brandt), and Trying to Get Back to You (Doc Walker). These songs are by two of my favourite Canadian artists, and seemed incredibly fitting for me.

Paul Brandt, Home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeTyqd1B_iI

Doc Walker, Trying to Get Back to You: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sYUDITzWTs

So I have been in Canada four days, seen some of my friends and most of my family, visited the winners circle at Woodbine, and made some fun plans for the summer. It will be nice to have a relaxing few months leading up to Darley Flying Start, but I also hope it goes quickly, because I can't wait to start my next adventure.