Raspberries

Dear Bono,

I haven't lived near my family for 9 years.  I've been on another continent for one year, and then the past year I've been two time-zones away.  Usually it's fine.  I get sad about it at Christmas, since I usually don't have enough time off for a visit.  With my work schedule, I generally get 4 days a month off.  That's two weekends.  I'm lucky to get off work by 8pm on Friday night and I have to be back at work by 6:30am Monday.  Not enough time for a quick trip out west: the 4 hour plane ride to see my family tends to eat up most of the day.

Today I talked to my sister as I drove home from work.  She lives near my parents and was talking about the fresh raspberries she was eating that she got from my parents' garden today.  I got jealous.  Raspberries have always been my favorite.  The ones you buy at the grocery store are not the same.  I remember standing out in my parents' garden, picking all the ripe raspberries and eating them between rounds of hide and seek or ghosts in the graveyard (my personal favorite).  I admit, I was very jealous.

It's not just the raspberries.  It's seeing my family, seeing my nieces and nephews, and enjoying the beautiful surroundings there.  True, my geburtsland has some quirks.  I can't get over how conservative it is nor how many people bleach their hair blonde.  Both are unnatural.  But there's something to be said for living near family.

Sincerely,

JP