QUEST: July 28
Moving
Today I resumed moving through my Big Walk. I walked 10.3 miles to a turnout by the side of the road, where I found Quester waiting for me like an old friend.
I have to wonder whether my unique upbringing forms part of the reason I thought up this long-walking Quest. Here’s what I mean: During the Quest, I sleep in a different location practically every night. When I was growing up, my family relocated about every 3-4 months.
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It was a long time before I realized every family didn’t do that. And there was no good reason for ours to move so often. But eventually, I realized I was the New Kid, I was always the New Kid, and I was almost always the ONLY New Kid.
I don’t remember too many friends from grade school. In fact, I can’t even remember all the grade schools my mother told me I attended. Before she died, Mom told me I’d attended 25 elementary schools (Grades 1-6). I can only remember 18 of them.
The moving did slow down a bit – I attended only one junior high school (Grades 7-8), and only three high schools (one of which only had me for a single week). So many of the friends I met there, I still remember, and those are memories I cherish.
What have I learned from being the New Kid? Well, I guess my biggest take-away is that, despite being a clear introvert, I’m pretty comfortable with new people, groups, and even crowds.
But I also think it’s a beautiful part of my life story. (Believe me, when I was 12, I saw absolutely nothing beautiful about it.) It’s made me comfortable with “nomadic” life, meaning I don’t feel as tied to places as some people feel.
That said, I always “crave” the chance to simply be home for a while. I’m sure I’ll enjoy spending time at home after the Quest ends.
It’s also helped my memory – I can remember what was happening in a given month and year in my past, because the memory is tied to the place where I lived at the time.
Also, I think it’s made me feel like my normal place is to be IN a place or group, but not OF it. And though I don’t always resist the temptation to “join in,” I do think there’s a big part of me that strives, as The Lord said, to be “in the world, but not of it.”
Thanks for following my Quest. If you’d like to respond, please post a comment here, or send an email to michael@michaelhume.net. Either way, I look forward to reading your views when I return to my screen in late August.
Michael, Sunday, July 28, 2024
