Take it in and Hold Your Breath.....

Hello and welcome.

They say home is where the heart is- well I discovered that some of my heart remains here.
This land has been in my maternal grandfather's family for, well back to my great-great grandfather's time.

In fact, this house sat at the back of the acres that I spent an amazing day exploring. My grandfather is one of the lads on the front porch of this house, which sat above the creek and the family mill. HIS grandfather is the oldest man in the black suit and hat. His father is somewhere in the porch shadows. Not sure if the house was crooked or the photographer was drunk, but a very cool picture indeed. Zooming in when I scanned it at high resolution affords many heart warming details of the life they lived.

The land remains with a very special couple who have made the place a country paradise.
I call her Aunt Mary George. Technically, she is not my aunt. But in the South, does that matter? She is a cousin to my grandfather, I believe, but they all grew up together and family is family.
Her mother had a small home there that looked like this: The original part of the home is the small square home with porch area.
Mary and C took the home, remodeled it and added on lots of space to make it their own once the retired from a career of moving and working around the states. Returning to home and their roots, they now spend they days loving life and the country land they are blessed to occupy.I visit Mary almost every time I come home. Run in, sit down, chit-chat, run out.
I decided that this day, I would enjoy, listen, walk,- BREATHE.
I spent hours walking, just me and my camera.

And the whispers of the past, the fresh country air and the present all spoke to me.

I remember my childhood- barefooted, riding in the back of a truck in a lawn chair.
Riding my motorcycle on the 48 acres of my great grand parents.
Leaving in the morning and having to be called in at nightfall.
Ponies, rabbits, chickens, dogs, cats- watermelon planted at the back fence, rows of crepe myrtles Papaw planted.
Then I think back to the life before my time- the life that whispered to me from this beautiful place.
We all have a life- and each day we write the story of it -as soon as we stick our head out into the sun from our hiding places and face the day.

Sometimes, we get so trapped in our lives. We are so busy with our meetings and sports and blogs and facebooks and blackberries.....that we forget to "take it in and hold our breath"....
We get so busy worrying about the future that we do not stop to enjoy the present, nor reflect on the past.

What we don't realize is that our story comes from the past, unfolds in the present and shapes our future.
Our values, our hopes, our dreams- our lives- they are our souls.
And our souls are connected to souls of the past, present and future~ and to each other.

So as we look ahead to the road of life-
pray thankfully wait patiently reflect thoughtfully respond whole-heartedly love unconditionally laugh contagiously live purposefully learn continually
And make sure, as you write your story,
your ending is the HAPPY one
your soul had been looking for.

Next time: Southern Plantation Charm and a little home town history with old friends.( And of course more hundreds of photos!)