Homesick...

Despite being in Alaska for six years now, I still miss Michigan.  It becomes an issue when I think of fall and the trees.  The smells, the temperatures, the colors, and my memories combine to make me yearn for the Copper Country.  For whatever reason, most individuals with Finnish ancestry loathe leaving their hometown.  Yet financial and other burdens make leaving home a necessary evil.

While longing for the trees, I started thinking about mine-rock.  Mine-rock happens to be a type of igneous rock.  The igneous rock found most commonly in the Copper Country, which also gets called mine-rock, would be basalt.  Basalt looks dark gray, nearly black, it often contains white streaks and other minerals within it.  I fondly recall climbing rock piles comprised of basalt as a child.  Never thought I would miss it.

Every time I leave Houghton County to return to Alaska, I cry.  Although I love Golovin, it will never replace the affinity I have for Bootjack.  My parents, my best friend's family, and a few close friends are all that remains in Michigan for me.  Yet I miss it with all of my heart.

We do not have deciduous trees in Golovin that change colors.  We have tag elders that people call "willows" here.  They do not change into fiery reds, flame oranges, and brilliant yellows.  One or two days in the fall, the tundra turns a bright red/orange color.  It is beautiful in its own way, but it only makes me long for what I do not see.

"When the autumn leaves are falling to the ground, when the air gets cold, and I think of us as you and I
And it almost makes me cry.  Songs sounding kind of bittersweet and the memories fill with tears and I think my heart will break..."  ABBA

I miss football Saturdays and walks in the woods.  The sounds and smell of autumn leaves on the ground.  And I wonder, will I ever experience those things again?  Or will they remain fond memories forevermore?