No strings...

IIIIIII've got no strings to hold me down, to make me laugh, to make me frown! I've got no strings to hold me down, there are no strings on me!
~Pinocchio

What a patently false statement. At least, it is now. Once though, I could go where I wanted, when I wanted (geographically, that is). Now? Not so much. Not by any malevolent force keeping me somewhere....but love. Strings of family, friends...things keeping me tied to where I am. My husband, my biological/marital family, and my chosen family (friends) all keeping me where I am...but I know that any of them would let me go somewhere else in a second, if that was what I really needed. It wouldn't be easy for anyone, but I feel safe in the knowledge that if it was what was best for me, it could happen.

The strings that bind a New England girl to the area, especially an island girl, can be pretty tough ones to break. I tried Arizona for a year...not only was it an ENTIRELY different climate environmentally, but emotionally as well. The furthest I've been away for any length of time not including vacations is western Massachusetts. I can't stand the thought of being much further from home than that. And really, I know people say that home is where your mail goes, but for me, Harpswell will always be home. No matter where I go, those strings always pull me back...so maybe I do have strings to hold me down, after all....but the security of those strings allows me to soar in other ways.