10 Years

Tomorrow is my Ann Arboriversary, the annual marker of the date I moved to town. I think of this each year, but this time, if feels like an especially important occasion. I begin a new year tomorrow, meaning that I close another one out today. And this time, I hit ten years. As of today, I’ve lived here for an entire decade.

That is a lovely gift. These days, I think a lot about place — what it means to witness land and nature, what it means to have a place to explore, and most of all, what it means to be embedded in relationships with friends, neighbors, and coworkers. I’m grateful to have lived here ten years.

Additionally, I have beloved people who live all over the country, and more than ever, I find myself wanting to be with them as often as I can — still rooted here, but adventuring in a number of “theres” every time I can make it happen. I want the roots; I want to prioritize the connections.

I want an expansive vision of home.

This theme has been on my mind and heart all year. Home is place. Home is land. Home is rhythms. Home is a spiritual state of mind. Home is, above all, in my experience, people.

So Ann Arbor, thanks for being a part of that vision. I’m grateful to be rooted in a place and to continue to reflect on what home means.

— Renee Roederer

Dear Subscribing Readers, after submitting this post, I am going to take a two-week break from writing on Smuggling Grace, but I will be back mid-September. As always, thanks for reading along!