Here

I'm here.

I'm here on a familiar bit of earth.

Here with surroundings known better than anywhere I've traveled.  A place that will always be home regardless of how far I go....filled with memories, events and a heart full of love for people known.  This is where I have lived and this is where I have gained skills, knowledge, hurts, joys...

I am here.  Back again.  Here where I am known.

It's an ordinary day with the cool wind blowing and whispering signs of the cold that is to come.  People in cars.  People walking in and out of the grocery under construction.  People talking and hurrying along.  People working and trying to make it through the day.  People are all around me.  Unknown faces, but they live here.  They live here on the familiar ground.

It's a strange feeling I can't quite express, but these people...I care deeply for them.  They are my people now yet hopefully most will remain strangers...yet if our paths cross and they are in need...I want to be ready.

It's a responsibly that goes beyond a paycheck.  It's a calling and "gulp"...am I up for this job?  The hours are clicking until the start of a new race...  Hours, stress, experiences and questions have lead to knowledge and to this opportunity.  As I look around at these people, a strange feeling of responsibly flows from my heart as I find myself quickly standing to attention.  Alert and ready.  How to explain this feeling flowing within?  A protective older sister?  It's the closest familiar feeling...

Less than two days remain and then it will begin.