Heart's Home

There are three places in the world that are more sacred to me than any other. No, I'm not talking about a temple. I'm talking about sacred places that hold my heart forever in their grasp, no matter what. One is the ranch that I grew up on, another is the Uncompaghre, and finally the third is the Whiting Homestead in the White Mountains of Arizona.  Tonight as I write this my beloved homestead is under threat once again of a fire. 

This has happened before, but this one is closer than the last several.  Within 8 miles last reported.  My family holds the homestead in a trust, that is run by a board and hopefully will always be there for the descendants of my Great Grandfather Edwin Marion Whiting.

My older sisters got to spend their early childhood summers at the homestead, my parents lived in Mesa and it was a great place to spend the summer out of the heat, by the time I came along my parents had moved to Colorado, and the homestead was an easy 9 hours away. My memories of the homestead are for reunions only, and the last 10 years of his life my Dad refused to go down for reunions.  I went back in 1998 for the 50th Anniversary reunion, then my branch had a reunion there in 2009, and we went back for the big 2010 reunion to perform our play.

It is difficult to describe why this place has such a hold on my heart, I can't put a specific memory down, or event, just a feeling of walking with ancestors who worked so hard to make a living in those high Arizona mountains. It has a smell all it's own, in fact last year I found a candle in Bath and Body works that reminded me of the homestead.  I bought it, took it home and asked Nancy to smell it and tell me where it reminded her of, she told me that it didn't evoke a place memory, it reminded her of Grandma and Grandpa Whiting, but she didn't know why. Once I told her it smelled like the homestead, we both realized we were sharing the same memory.

I will get down on my knees tonight, and ask the Lord to at least spare the buildings of the homestead, I know fire is the forests way of rebirth, that it promotes healthy growth, and is necessary for many pines to actually germinate. But still, I will pray for one of the most treasured places on this earth for me.