It has been a complex business. I had thought that coming home would have some kind of natural simplicity implicit in its processes. After all we weren’t trying to migrate to new pastures we were simply returning home after an extended spell overseas…11 years in NZ. I hadn’t expected it to be smooth, there were going to be hurdles and obstacles but I had expected it to have some kind of “this is your home” ring to it. I think the shifting sands of Morecambe best sums it up. Things were the same but somehow different. Faces were familiar but somehow not recognisable. In our absence, the shifting sands had changed the landscape.
In spite of this there was an absolute joy in recognising and reconnecting with familiar buildings and walking in the ghostly footsteps left from our previous wanderings and the feeling of warmth and belonging were rekindled by the crisp winter evening air, the ghostly morning mists and the memory of plants and flowers long forgotten in childhood.
Pussy willow tree
In February drizzle
Catkins caress spring
Today for Haibun Monday we were asked to reflect on the best things of life being for free and the catkins this Sunday did it for me. Long forgotten childhood treasure.
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Hues of Hankinson 
You capture the change beautifully here Alison. There is so much going on in the UK right now. Change is everywhere.
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Welcome back home. What a great haiku about all the changes going on in your life and the world around you. And the haiku – oh how I love pussy willow and your haiku makes me smile tremendously. thank you.
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I remember going back to what was left of a childhood home town and found it had changed like the “shifting sands” you mentioned. There were still people there I remembered, but they were all older. And so was I.
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There’s nowhere like the UK when it comes to pussy willow and catkins, Alison! I’ve been spotting them everywhere and I love it! Welcome back!
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Well written. I like the “shifting sands” changing things that we once so familiar.
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Hi Alison
I am finding the same thing. Things the same but different. I think my challenge is going to be to recreate myself to be tolerant and positive in all that I say and do. I take beauty from the space and people around me. Take care and look up. Xxx
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I can relate to the shifting sands and how we are changing all the time ~ Love your haiku too ~
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what an amazing write.
my favorite line:
In our absence, the shifting sands had changed the landscape.
stacy lynn mar
http://www.warningthestars.com/2017/02/the-best-things-are-free-haibun.html
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I think it’s not only nature changing, but also yourself. Maybe being away make you really see that change. I’m sure you will feel right at home when spring truly breaks
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Thank goodness there are differences! You pick out a tiny detail and hang a whole memory on it. Lovely.
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I think that it was a brave decision – going back.
I left my homeland about 13 years ago. When I visited after 8 years, I felt the usual excitement, and then the trepidation. Somehow, I felt like a stranger in the place I grew up in. The place and the people had changed and so am I.
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