I've Got Your Back!

Chris once said to me, "Corning is the perfect place to come back to, and the perfect place to leave." Coming from NYC, I never fully understood that until we gave up our tiny flat in the city and started spending more time here on our return trips from Asia. Over the years Corning has woven its way into our hearts and has become a place that we long for after we've spent several weeks in China. It's a place that not only represents home, it's become a place to retreat, regroup and reconnect with family and friends while we're Stateside.

Corning is a place for long summer days, long mornings on the deck, long picnics in the vineyards, long hikes through the gorge, long shadows on the lawn, long drives around the lakes, long games of croquet with the family and long walks through the neighborhood. It's a place where there's no rushing, little planning, easy days and lingering evenings. It's a place we all come to, from far and wide and never for long enough, to relax, rejuvenate, reenergize, and reset.

Although Corning is the place Chris and I call home, the truth is we spend 90% of our time in Asia and about 10% of our time here. Because of that, Corning can often feel like a place where we, too, are guests. Like the rest of the family, many of whom live in the overcrowded, overly busy Northern Virginia area, we enjoy Corning as a retreat from the madness, a haven of good food, clean air, healthy water, and quiet, peaceful living. Of course, for Chris and me, it's also a return to the American way of life and small town culture.

My sister comes up to Corning often with her family and is at the center of many of our family gatherings. She loves the lakes and picnicking, meals out on the deck and hiking around the vineyards. But mostly, I think, she comes for the quiet. I'll often find her standing very still outside on the front walk, just listening... to nothing. She, like my Dad, who also lives in a bustling area, longs for the quiet sounds of nature, the absence of manmade noise, the overwhelming stillness that comes when there are no cars, no construction, no sirens, no rumbling trucks. I think it soothes her soul and helps her to reconnect with an inner sense of peace. She calls it her "Corning Happy" and she holds onto it for as long as possible after she leaves!

Today we went on a walk around the block, about a mile and a half circuit that winds along country roads through the woods and past our neighbors' yards. The only wildlife we saw today were the geese swimming happily in their private pond and the occasional dog barking bravely from his porch, all the while giving away his fearsome demeanor with a friendly wag of his tail! We always keep an eye out for the deer and wild turkeys, but they mostly stay to themselves, and although there are coyote and bears in these woods, they aren't really something to worry about. Regardless of what we might encounter along the way, my niece seems to be up to the challenge, searching ahead, keeping the stride and reassuring her mom with an arm around the shoulder, "Don't worry, Mom. I've got your back!"