Upon searching for America~

Greetings this 2nd to the LAST official Sunday in the season of winter~all the way from home here in south central Kansas.  The heavens have opened up above us, beginning in the early morning hours yesterday and we have received the very needed gift of moisture for now, in the form of rain.  The weatherman is making bets that later today it will turn into snow showers, though that remains to be seen.  No matter how much or how little we get, in the least of things Kansans should be giving thanks.  After last summer's dry spell, we are surely hurting.

On this, the 10th day of the month of March, I stand in awe of how quickly the time passes by each day.  Truly it wasn't that very long ago that we anticipated the first day of the month of December and with it, the arrival of the season that my good friend Patti calls "the dark".  It was also about that time that I came up with a new, #1 item for the "Miller Bucket List"~"to travel to New York City and visit my niece who lives there".  

Now, over 3 and a half months later, that day is fast approaching and I wonder all of a sudden, if I "really" know what I've gotten myself into.  I'm not a big fan of huge cities and since I'm a farmer's daughter from south central Kansas, my idea of a big city has always been Wichita. (Hey, I can hear the laughter, by the way.)   To go from a city like Hutchinson, Kansas (population around 45,000 give or take one or two families) to the largest city in the United States, New York City (population a gazillion or 8,000,000 which ever way you choose to look at it) is going to be a little unnerving to say the least.  And to get on a plane to fly there?  Just ask anyone who has known me since September 11th of 2001, and they'll tell you that Peggy Miller has always sworn she would never fly again.   I guess you could say that I have a couple of "issues" going on here.  But come March 23rd, just two weeks from yesterday, my anxiety and fears will need to be set aside, checked at the baggage section if you will.  I'm going to New York and the only way to get there is to climb on that plane and so do.  I will make it, probably.

I'm blessed to have a 22-year old daughter who was "born" to travel and because of that, I asked her if she would join me on this great adventure.  Ursela has made all of the arrangements~from the flight to Binghamton, New York to the train ride home to the Amtrak station here in Hutchinson, and every thing else in between.  All I have to do is just get myself on that plane in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the rest, well the "rest" will be just fine if only I allow it to be.

Our first 3 and a half days will not be spent in New York City, but rather in the beautiful little village of Owego, New York.  With a population of just under 4,000 people (according to the census of 2010) it will be a peaceful and serene place to relax in for a while.  Many people have asked me about Owego and what it was that "drew me" to it in the first place.  It's actually a long story but suffice it to say this~I fell in love with that little place in southern New York when I went there to visit it in May of 2012.  Spending a couple of days there while on the way to see my lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine was one of the highlights of my summer.  The time there was way too short and I vowed as I pulled out of Owego in the early morning darkness that before I died, I would come back and see more of that beautiful place.  I'm looking forward to meeting all of the wonderful students and staff at St. Patrick School~New York kids who have been pen pals with some of the kids at my school, Lincoln Elementary here in Hutch.  I'm bringing along a little of the Midwest with me, a "touch of Kansas" for them.  Finally, for the first time, I'll actually get to meet in person, my two Facebook friends from Owego, Kevin and Diana.  And I want my daughter Ursela to pay a visit with me to the most genuine and greatest smelling library EVER, the Coburn Free Library.  Ursela is a born "book worm" and I know that she will enjoy experiencing a visit to one of the greatest places in Owego~but then I am biased because I think the whole dang place is great.  

The last 3 and a half days for our New York journey are in the "Big Apple" and I cannot even imagine the adventures that are waiting for us there~There are many places to see and a ton of things to do.  Friends have been suggesting a variety of spots to visit and thus our list of "to do and to see" is pretty long.  For sure we are heading to the 9-11 Memorial, Museum of Modern Art, Times Square, Central Park, "The Top of the Rock", the Brooklyn Bridge and ESPN (where Jessica, my niece is a writer and producer).  Even though New York City is not a place where Peggy Miller would ever feel comfortable calling "home", I am so grateful for the opportunity to see my wonderful niece Jessica and if even for only 3 days, to experience what life is like for her there.  To actually be able to do all of this, I feel most blessed.

You know, as a 57-year old "grown up" woman, I have looked back with some regret over all of the chances that I've turned down in this life to go and see what the rest of the world is like.  I was born here in Kansas and for ever have lived here.  For the most part, my journeying away from home has been pretty limited.  I used to believe I was a "world traveller" because I had seen all of the Great Plains states from North Dakota to Texas.  It was only last year when I went to Maine, that I realized just how limited my life had been.  Driving through states like Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and finally Maine just gave me the "taste" of what seeing this great nation was really about.  And the weird thing was this~after all this time of NOT going places, I actually found out it was kinda fun!  

My dearest of friends, please don't wait until you are my age to decide that you want to see this magnificent nation that we live in.  All over the place, be it in Kansas, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania or anywhere else in between~there are people, REALLY GOOD people who would be more than happy to share their part of the world with you.  I may have spent the first 5 decades of my life staying close to "home" but with whatever years remain for me, I fully intend to see as much of this country as I possibly can.  I finally figured out that I can't afford to waste any more time, that the time to go and see is NOW.  Whatever dreams and aspirations you hold for yourself and for your future, whether they are numbered on a "bucket list" or not, please follow them dear friends.  You won't regret it if you do~my own experience tells me that you WILL regret it if you don't.  Have a wonderful Sunday, the 10th of March, 2013.  When you lay your head on the pillow tonight, it will have been the greatest of days to be alive in!

The Coburn Free Library, Owego, New York~Man, I could have spent the entire day in there getting "lost" in books.  When I opened up the front door, I went back in time to the days of my childhood.  It emitted the scent, the smell of what a REAL library should smell like.  Books, glorious books!

The glass floors were so intriguing to me.  

So amazing how the kids who USED to sit at the "little kid's" table at Christmas grow up to be the very ones who guide their elderly parents along life's way.  The girl on the left, in the cool pink cap, is my Ursela.  Thank goodness the spirit of adventure was born in her too!  She learned it by watching her brothers and I learned it by watching all of them.

Have no worries, she will take good care of her Aunt Peggy.  See you soon Jessica!

Heading soon to life in a new place~a chance to finally push life's "reset" button.  Have no worries for me there, either.  All these years, I didn't realize what blessings were waiting for me, right next door to me.  With Mike at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison on my first visit to Montrose early this year.