Skip to main content

Dandelion

 

"Military children are like dandelions. They can put down roots and bloom anywhere the wind carries them, standing ready to fly into new adventures, new lands, and new friends."


I came across this passage while explaining to a friend why the dandelion is the symbol of military brats. I don't know if this conversation was a serendipitous reminder of where I come from or if my subconscious mind was looking for something that might save me from the stress and anxiety I am experiencing about moving back to the US without a job or a permanent place to live. Maybe both?


This move is a challenge for me because of my life as a military brat and an international teacher. I went to 16 schools before graduating high school and 5 different colleges/universities before achieving an MFA. I have lived in 7 states, 8 countries, and I have had the key to 68 front doors, 68 homes - that's more than my age. Scary? You bet! Where is home is the worse question anyone can ask me because home has only ever been where I have the key to the front door. Not a place where I have history.


Like the dandelion, my roots are shallow tendrils easily uprooted by the breezes that have taken me on life-changing adventures and many trips of a lifetime, all while forging deep friendships. But, where is the next front door, the next key? I fret about this question at night when the darkness of uncertainty overtakes my dreams.


If I look at my past, I should not worry. I've always landed somewhere unique, planted my roots in shallow but fertile soil, and happily stayed until it was time to fly away. So, I guess I'll be okay!


But maybe this time, when the wind carries me out of South Africa, I'll land where my roots can grow a little deeper, where I can stay a little longer, and where I can let my military brat wanderlust fade away.


Any suggestions where that special place might be?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Esther Mahlangu - Ndebele Artist

  This beautiful woman is 92-years-old and lives in a small Ndebele village in Mpumalanga. Esther Mahlangu is an Outsider Artist, self-taught from the age of nine, who has achieved great success with her bold, colorful art reflecting traditional Ndebele culture. It’s not clear, but it seems she never went to school and can only write her name on her artwork. However, she has two honorary doctorates for her contributions to the art world. Her success was serendipitous. In 1986, researchers from France were roaming around looking for traditional art forms. One road led them to the artist’s village, where they became enthralled by Mahlangu’s uniquely painted houses. Right time, right road!  They invited her to create murals for an international contemporary art exhibition at the Magiciens de la Terre in France. Her obscurity was soon over and she quickly became a phenomenon in the Pan-African art world. Her resume is awe-inspiring. Look her up, here’s one link - https://www.sahi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Leopard in a Tree

  I broke a rule in The Kruger to get a shot of this leopard resting in the middle of a tree fully populated with leaves. And, I kind of didn’t care because, well, it was a leopard, one of the most elusive, stealth, and stunning animals I have been lucky enough to see only a few times during my seven years of trolling around southern Africa. Many cars were parked at the site, inhabitants gawking upwards directly outside the Lower Sabie entrance, so I knew something special was in the tree. Except, I couldn’t see it, and I wanted to it, so I stared and scanned in between the leaves and the branches until I recognized the spotted tail hanging to one side. Gold! One problem! Many roads in The Kruger are no-trespass roads - poacher patrol roads, ranger roads, admin roads, washed-out roads, all roads where civilian vehicles are not welcome. The best angle for the photo was down one of those roads so, I lost control of my manners, calculated where and how I needed to get there, and drove...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jacaranda

  View the beauty of this glorious jacaranda mimosifolia tree in full bloom.  They are everywhere in Johannesburg and Pretoria in spring.  South Africans look forward to the explosion of soft violet leaves every October, signaling the end of chilly winters and the rebirth that comes with spring. Traveling down an avenue canopied with these trees makes me feel like I’m in a fantasy novel, so enchanted by their majesty and color that I have pulled over more than once to snap photos. Local lore says that a person will have good luck if a jacaranda bloom falls on their head.  Originating in South America, the jacaranda was brought to South Africa somewhere between 1830 and the 1880s, at the height of the gold rush.  Planted along many of the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria, the trees were charged with making the dusty landscape of the booming cities lovely and livable. They look like their entire existence to bring pleasure, kind of like the mockingbird. But, t...
Post a Comment
Read more