"I'm gonna find my freedom/ Brother, you should too....

And if you don't do it now/You'll be one year older when you do."

From: 'Snowfall' by Reckless Kelly

I wanted so badly to be able to sit down in front of this blog page and quicky jot down a moving piece that would explain to anyone wondering why this Texas adventure is such a big deal to me.  It is something that has been brewing and growing in strength and richness for amost 4 decades.  It even passed down to my oldest daughter Maija.  She and I would sigh and talk about our "Two generations of Texas longing". 
The problem is, right now I am so focused on the present and the future, that I can't seem to get myself to look back and piece together the historical significance.  Maybe later I can do that.  
Right now just let me say this.  Between the packing and the hauling and the planning and the endings and the goodbyes; between the tears and the hugs and the letting go of everything, somewhere, deep inside my heart, there is something small and green, unfurling and turning towards the sun.  The Texas sun.  And I know that it is all good.

The Countdown....

I feel like I should be shouting from the rooftops.
"I'm leaving for TEXAS in only 11 days!!"
Leaving for Texas, leaving for GOOD!
To many people, that might not seem like a big deal.  To me, it is everything.
Let me explain....
I was 17.  I fell in love with Jerry Jeff Walker. Then Guy Clark. We were inseparable.
I took to wearing Western boots and a cowboy hat.  Peers crooked an eyebrow at me. This was nothing new.

"I don't know no other way
Got to live it day to day
if I die before my time
When I leave I'm leaving nothing behind
no,no, but tasting every single grape on the vine
I got a feeling
Something that I can't explain
It's like dancing naked
In that high Hill Country rain, alright
I ain't worried 'bout tomorrow, no
I'll get by best I can
Lovin' is my will to live
It makes me laugh
Want to sing and dance
Clap your hands, take a chance
come on and dance
I got a feeling
Something that I can't explain
It's like dancing naked
In that high Hill Country rain"
(From Hill Country Rain, by Jerry Jeff Walker)

I heard songs like THAT, and somehow I just KNEW that Texas was my place. When I finally got there, I found out I was right.  Texas, especially the Hill Country, took me in, embraced me, made me more ME than I was back home in Minnesota.  I loved the landscape, and the people and the swimming holes, so cold and blue and deep.  I loved the BBQ and the cowboys and the rolling miles. But most of all I loved the music.