2,138 Miles Later...

We've made it home from traveling home.

A recount of our Mississippi journey in numbers includes...
5 days,
7 car rides,
35 hours spent in the car,
5 tanks of gas,
20 relatives,
27 friends,
1 wedding,
and, of course, 2,138 miles.

Mississippi will always be my home. I felt as though I had always known this, but the past five days have further illuminated my understanding. The plethora of baptist churches, the broken roads, the funny town names, the lack of altitude, the blazing heat, the inconceivable humidity - I love it all, and I embrace it willingly every time I venture into what North Carolinians refer to as the "Deep South."

What used to be a daily reality is now a twice-a-year journey that requires effort, money, and a whole lot of driving. Being home is always a marathon, but it is equally sweet. I've never been much of a hugger, but when I find myself in Mississippi, I hug the neck of every familiar face in sight.

At home, there is one bittersweet realization that takes me by complete surprise each and every time it shows its unforgettable face - a face that, each time I see it, becomes more mature, more distinguished, older. Everything changes. I can hear these words echo for weeks after a much anticipated stay in Mississippi. Life goes on without us, and people keep growing up. Everything changes. Friends graduate and move away from a much beloved college town, and it suddenly seems rather empty upon return. Everything changes. Two friends who barely knew each other when you leave college date, love, and marry on a sunny day in June. Everything changes. Parents make plans to retire and travel out west. Everything changes. Your best friend of 7 years meets you for breakfast, holding a brand new baby boy. Everything changes. Despite my best efforts, lives keep changing, friends keep growing up, family keeps growing older, and life continues to dance to the beat of an unstoppable drum. Everything changes. 

"To understand the world, one must first understand a place like Mississippi."

-William Faulkner