Goodbye Tennessee, Hello Colorado

While I was laying on my cot inside of our tent on the last night we were to be in Tennessee, this thought came to me. In years past, on the last night, I would become very sad, knowing that it was over. 

The National Storytelling Festival would come to an end on the next day and after the last story was told, while the chairs were being packed away and the tents were being taken down, we would pack up our truck and start the long trip back to South Florida, where we used to live. 

On that last night I knew that I did not want to leave those Smoky Mountains, I didn't want to leave the slow pace that the people of Tennessee seem to have down to a science. I didn't want to return to the fast-paced lifestyle that South Florida thrives on. I yearned to stay, I dreamed of the day we could move to the Appalachian hills that were so beautiful during the autumn season.

This year, this trip, I did not have those desires. I realized on that last night, while laying on that cot, I did     not yearn to stay. The Smokey Mountains did not have the same pull on my heart strings that it had in the past.

I'm not quite sure why. Am I finally content here in the slow-paced, northeast corner of Colorado? 

I believe so.

Love from the Preacher and I