Nomad for Life

I really should've been born a Bedouin or a Mongol herder. Then I wouldn't question my nomadic behavior nor would it be looked at askance by friends and family. It would be accepted, by myself and others, that that is who I am: a nomad.

Does this mean I have some deep-seated psychological problem that interferes with my desire and ability to put down roots? Yes, of course.

AND I am nomadic at heart. A wanderer. An explorer. Adventurer.

They say home is where the heart is. Well, my heart has been with me everywhere I've lived. Truly, I have loved every place I've ever lived. Well, OK, maybe not loved, but the places I haven't loved are few and far between and, at least, I've enjoyed living in those places.

Not too long ago, a friend asked me why I was moving, again. She said, in a way that was meant to be cautionary (and came across as judgmental), "Everywhere you go, there you are." And, of course, this phrase is usually used in both ways. But I had a very freeing epiphany at that moment. Yes! Everywhere I go, there I am. What fun!

I just have way too many interests and a desire for adventure to tie myself down, to settle down.

So why the move back to TN to buy a house? Two words: home base.

And I'm framing it as settling in. Into myself.

How will I have chickens, goats, bees, you ask? Well, I may not have them, not yet. (I love to volunteer.) Or if I do, I will ask for help. A novel idea for me, a lesson that I have been slowly learning over the past three years. It turns out that if I ask for help, I usually get it! Besides, Sissy is just dying to have chickens and goats. Do you see where I'm heading with this?

Yes, I am a Nomad and I've finally come to believe that it is better for my mental and emotional health to acknowledge this aspect of my character and, rather than try to change it or suppress it, accept it so that I can work with it in a more conscious way.

So, a twist on the "build it and they will come" mantra from Field of Dreams: Build it and I will go and come back!