This photo popped up as a Facebook memory earlier in the week. My husband had just left for Glacier National Park, and I was already feeling a bit of travel envy. The Glacier Facebook group I am a part of has been posting photos of verdant mountainsides, deep blue skies, abundant wildlife, and a bumper crop of beargrass. I made the decision months ago to skip this year in order to simplify my very busy life over the summer. My melancholy state puzzled me a bit. We have a few great trips planned and already have plans to visit Glacier next fall. Visiting in the fall is something we have both wanted to do for quite some time, and I am very excited it finally works with our schedules. So why am I second guessing my decision to stay home while he backpacks with a dear friend? My husband is my favorite travel partner, but we both venture out on our own, at times, so that doesn’t really explain it.

I came to realize that I have three geographic homes. The first is Minnesota where I grew up and currently live. The second is Glacier National Park which is the main place my husband and I have explored together. The third is Ireland and the British Isles. The last time I visited Ireland and Northern Ireland, I realized how at home I felt. As I walked through certain regions I felt as though I had stumbled into a family reunion. Seeing people who look so much like me was surprisingly surreal.

The longing to visit all of my “homes” has complicated my travel plans quite a bit. The draw to explore someplace new competes with my desire to feel the comforts of my geographic homes which are inconveniently located. I would love to spend a week on the North Shore, a week at Glacier, a week in Ireland, and explore one or two new places each year, but that is not very realistic at this stage of my life.

In light of my wanderlust, I feel thankful to reside in one of my geographic homes. While my husband is gone, I will enjoy tea on the patio each morning, listen to the birds, water the flowers, walk in the parks, and make a list of all the things I want to remember to tell him when he comes home. One thing I will tell him is that missing Glacier this year made me realize we have a cornucopia of homes.