My favorite place on Earth is the one I call home. Even though I live here in the Garden State of New Jersey, a little town called Richmond Michigan will always be my home. I grew up there, a beloved little country town with fields full of crops and various farms, from dairies to horse farms. My children and I return every summer and spend a few weeks there visiting. We generally always fly home, but last year we drove. There was something different about the journey home. I don't know if it was the long journey or simply my lack of patience to finally be home. My anxiety levels seemed to increase with every hour I spent on the road. I couldn't wait to be home. I wanted to see things that were familiar to me. The long dusty roads, the rural setting, the animals grazing in the surrounding fields or maybe just the familiar faces we were all used to seeing. Like Alex, he has worked at the local grocery store for as long as I can remember, I too was just a child when I remember seeing him for the first time. He always has a smile, shiny white teeth can be seen through his unkempt beard and he has never forgotten us even though we are no longer regular customers of the shop. I was thrilled to see fields filled with wheat, corn, or soybeans blowing in the breeze and animals grazing in the fields along my walk home. This show was what I wanted all year. Once I crossed the Ohio-Michigan border, I heard screams of pure joy from the back of my little SUV. My daughter Caden screams at the top of her lungs with excitement as she reads the “Welcome to Michigan” sign. "We're home!" he exclaimed. Her voice got a little sad when I told her we still have two hours to drive, but then she stated "we're almost home, we'll be there...halfway through the paper...k like a stream and the little wooden bridge that my father had built many years ago that form the path to be near them again My father walks towards my vehicle and I hear the words I have been waiting for since we began our 13 hour journey from New. Jersey "welcome home dear". I feel a sense of relief as if the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders, I can relax and be myself and enjoy time with my family and closest friends, I don't know why but when I'm here time seems to pass much slower, the frenetic pace I have in New Jersey is a distant memory for the moment The rural setting and the serene surroundings invite everyone to a slower pace of life We go to the porch and there we sit with a cold drink in hand and feet up, watching the cars go by and remembering the old days, full of fun, full of love. I am home.