Gypsy Blood

Mine gets boiling anytime I travel a distance from home. Watching the scenery pass by, enjoying what America used to look like and marveling at the possibilities. My home state has gotten so "civilized" that last time I ventured away from home it took me 2 hours to get into real country and away from urban sprawl. 12 years ago, when we traveled to San Diego, it took us just an hour. And as a child 30-45 mins depending on which direction you went. This time when I got to the bordering state it was evident how much mine had grown- gone where miles and miles of farms and trees, replaced with spotty farms and smaller acreage, more and bigger houses dotting the vista. The bordering state held what I see in my memories- only a little flatter.



I see nature at her glory and want to capture it and share it with my children. I dream for weeks, months later about buying an RV, a camper, an old bus, anything that will get us away from it all and onto the road. I would road school- teaching, learning and experiencing what we a loosing most quickly- our history, our forests, rivers, deserts. Our memories of what is most precious and valuable to us- our Earth. We'd met and talk to many different peoples, hear their histories and family stories. We'd live simply, because with 8 of us trying to fit into such a small space there would be no other choice. Stopping for periods of work and life. We'd follow a path that only we would know.




20 years and things I remember are no more- I fear what it'll be like when my children are grown. I experienced playing in the snow on top of the Rockies in July, my children have not. The great Grand Canyon- our next land fill? Will we walk across it on top of our trash? Red Woods forests of Northern CA- gone to fill disposable diapers? Already the Gulf my husband knows is changed forever- gone. I need to show them- to teach them- to let them be the stewards and keepers of the land, for my generation is not being heard. We are the slackers, the disappointing ones. My parents generation started opening our eyes- but I have seen many close theirs with time. (not mine personally- her roots were grounded but many and many in the generation before her) We are loosing many things we were taught were sacred- forest, water, animals (just Google what they are trying to do with the whales!)




Someday soon, but probably not too soon we will embark on our road- letting the gypsy blood flow. For good or for bad my husband shares this trait with me and we have made a commitment to each other, to our children to GO. Now we just have to put one foot in front of the other to see it through.