Home

When I lived at the Ashokan house, I felt a sense of ownership over the mountains and reservoir, and especially the promenade and spillway. The fossils uncovered from the edge of the water still serve as evidence of its everlasting beauty. However, because we lived so far away from everybody, we hardly ever had visitors. I so badly wanted to share my walk to the reservoir with friends and family, but only on special occasions did this happen. It wasn’t that I was lonely, it was just I wanted to share.

When we finally decided to move, I looked forward to returning to a community, but knew I would miss seeing the mountains every morning from my window. I have no regrets about this decision. Today, I thought about this, because I similarly have felt a sense of ownership over the park at Cantine Field like I did with those mountains. I know every crack in the sidewalk, every tree and just about every child on the swing. I have seen Alan learn how to walk at the park as well as climb stairs (this week without holding on to the side!) Also, I have established life-long friendships here. Today we met Julie and Jace at the park and played in the wading pool and on the playground. It felt like home.

Tonight, I needed to go for a drive with Alan. He didn’t nap, and I thought he would sleep in the car. We ended up at Forsythe Park in Kingston (yes I ventured out of Saugerties). I have been here a few times with Alan, but just to the zoo. This was my first time taking Alan to this park. As a new mom, I found it a bit overwhelming. You need to check for hazards, and the people are new, and you can’t just throw your bag down anywhere. I started to feel a little homesick for my home park. Yet, moments after I arrived, a few of the children asked if I could push them on the swing, and a child shared his soccer ball. I slowly started to feel the exhilaration of discovering a new place for us to have fun and to meet new people. Plus, Alan was much bolder here than at our home park. He climbed up the towers with such confidence, and was determined to check out every nook and cranny including the surrounding fields. In the end, we really enjoyed ourselves!

I’ve always known that a “sense of place” has always been important to me, and that I need to share that with others. I still occasionally drive up to the Ashokan to visit my mountains. It amazes me how my definition of “home” keeps expanding like concentric circles.