Our years of living have proved one thing – There will always be a blue highway home.
It’s not so much the city streets, but more the connecting highway from where our life has taken us, to the place from which we come from. The slower pace, the faded white lines and the grass growing right next to the highway pulls you to your roots. This highway only works in one direction, and the feeling is always the same. You begin to see things as they were but not oblivious to the changes, and the faces of friends and family appear like photographs. So close to home.
I’ve traveled the blue highway home many times but for me there’s a difference. I never felt the pull of a distant dream that would put me miles away from where I was raised. I’ve chased plenty of those dreams, but it felt more like it needed to be done from the familiar surroundings from where I stood. I’ve talked about this in so many ways, and the question still haunts me. How would the blue highway home feel from the outside looking in?
I’ve talked about this in so many ways, and the question still haunts me. How would the blue highway home feel from the outside looking in?
As time passes, our reference to home is fluid. It depends on the conversation and the depth of knowledge our listener has of us. Do they know the whereabouts of my upbringing? Are they only familiar with my current location, or does it really matter? For those who really know us, there is a sense of understanding that home will always be at the end of that old highway. In a sense, when reflecting, we see things similar to the road that takes us home. Quiet and full of memories, recognizable faces and that back porch light, pulling those thoughts to a place of comfort and familiarity.
We don’t always have the urge to go home, mostly because a part of us never left. Sometimes that blue highway is a source of resentment or angst and best not traveled. But life can be full of these feelings no matter where you go or where you’ve been. For me, the blue highway is a reminder that no matter where you end up, there will always be an open door when looking back.
Jeff Maddox 