#WhereAreTheUbryTerrells ... Leg 6: California

Flying from Ohio to California is like flying from home to home.

Ohio was relaxed and quiet. Ohio was dandelions. Ohio was walks down the lane with the dog and coffee in the morning with the parents. Ohio was home.

California is busy and loud. California is traffic and warm skies and orange poppies. California is coffee in the morning with the kids and then running off to meet up with friends. California is home too.

It’s funny, to feel so at home in such different worlds. But it reveals a truth that I spent my entire 20s searching for: home is not a place.

(I was sitting at an outdoor Starbucks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when I wrote that last paragraph. A small group of people were chatting, waiting for their drinks, and as they said goodbye I overheard the woman say: “I’m not seeking any more. I’ve found it.” I don’t know to what she was referring to—a job, a spouse, a home, a higher power—but I understood immediately that deep sense of contentment.)

Our “reason” for being in California at this point in the journey was to attend Randy’s niece’s wedding. The daughter of Randy’s oldest brother, Rachel was radiant. The wedding was small enough that we had ample opportunity to talk with the bride and groom, as well as spend time with family we don’t see often (and some I’d never met!).

I was especially excited to spend time with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who were on their way home from a mission trip to Ecuador. Even though their mission had only lasted 10 days and Randy and mine lasted a year-and-a-half, we had similar stories and feelings around our experiences. There were certain “comforts” of home that we longed for—vegetables, namely, and being able to flush toilet paper rather than putting it in the trash can beside you. But also so much that we would miss—the children, a people who are more content with little than Americans are with much, a sense of purpose and calling, rice and beans. One of the greatest challenges, it seems, from having experiences such as ours, is returning different to a place where everyone else is still the same. Which is why it was so encouraging to me to share this moment with them.

The only thing I don't like about visiting California is that there is never ample enough time to see all the people we want to see and do all the things we want to do. So we’ll be back in a couple of weeks to call on those we missed…