I have lived in Colorado for 32 years
And while it is one of the most beautiful places
On Earth
I don’t like living so far from my family
A distance that requires
Plane tickets
And days off
And writing sub plans
And planning so far in advance
So we know
Everyone will be home
For a visit

Don’t get me wrong
I’m thrilled to have the wherewithal
To be able to see my family
And now that the pandemic is mostly over
I get to travel much more frequently

But I yearn for the days of my childhood
When everyone lived within
Driving distance for a weekend together
And we could pack a suitcase
Make sandwiches for a picnic supper in the car
And see each other for the weekend
We did that a lot
Probably about every other month
When I was growing up

Except for my family in California
That did require plane tickets
Or a long cross-country road trip
We missed them so in the
In-between times

Like I miss my family now
Spread across the country

In just three days
I will get on a plane
And head to Texas
To see my son and his girlfriend
And the puppies
For five delicious days together

I will be celebrating my
Sixtieth birthday with them
And for that
I am infinitely grateful
Milestones and major life events
Go better with family by your side

I am leaning in to this time
And the hope that I’ll see them again
In two short months
In North Carolina
For my dad’s birthday
When we’ll be together for the first time
In over six years
And the first time truly all together
With Haley there too

When I retire and move to Michigan
My hope is that one day we will be
In driving distance
Maybe if Travis and Haley end up
More in the Midwest,
Where Haley is from
And seeing each other
Can be a bit more often
And definitely more spontaneous

And when I’m retired
There will be no taking time off
And writing sub plans
So even if I need to book a plane ticket
I will have so much more flexibility
And time to travel

And since I’ll be living in Michigan
I won’t need to be traveling home there
Because I’ll already be home

I still have family in
Wisconsin and Ohio
Chicago and Indiana
Aunts and uncles
Cousins
My oldest stepdaughter and her family
I’m very much looking forward
To being a car ride away
From family
In six short years

So in returning home
I will also be returning
To the hope of
More time with family
Even though none live in
Michigan itself

And perhaps with me there
There might be a yen
For my family
To return home again
And I might get to see them
Without getting on a plane
Or in a car
Or on a train
At all
But merely by opening the door

Jennifer Gurney lives in Colorado where she teaches, paints, writes and hikes. Her poetry has appeared in a variety of journals, including Sparks of Calliope, The Ravens Perch, HaikUniverse, Haiku Corner, Cold Moon Journal, Scarlet Dragonfly, and The Haiku Foundation.