observing rootedness

i went home with a friend today. his parents celebrated with injera and wat. we ate with our hands while debating faith and politics. comfortable. delicious. familial.
i drooled over his bookcases and his chess-set collection. he pulled out the souvenirs he has brought home from all his travels. and i was struck by the realization that not all of us life in the temporal.
I sat in the living room as he discussed his semester with people who have known him for the past 21 years and plan to know for at least that again. they were comfortable criticizing him, laughing with him, and encouraging him. he rebuffed kindly and thoughtfully listened to their advice. they speak into his life in a way i do not. here he is at peace here in a way i have not seen him at peace elsewhere.
and so i went home with a friend today. we will spend less than 24 hours here. and yet i can extrapolate so clearly what i miss without this solidity in my life. a place that is there; roots in the ground. i'm jealous of the casual way in which they interact: filled with love, but without the pressure of a million miles, a huge sea, 2 continents, and a year of time between them.
for now i watch my friend and his parents. i let myself feed vicariously off of the concept of home. someday i will be grounded again.

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