...we can stay wherever pepper grows

Have you ever had a quote grab your attention? If you're like me, you've got a small--or maybe not-so-small--bank of them. Each one stepped into my life at just the right moment to snare my attention and poignantly share its truth. Sometimes a quote will grab me by the ankle and shake me upside down a few times; other times it's like spreading a soothing balm over chapped hands.

This particular quote, true to its character, made its presence known quite like taking a bite of an hors d'oeuvre seasoned with peppers--one of those varieties that you barely notice at first, but the heat builds steadily and lingers long after the bite. It met me in a German Poetry course at N.C. State University about a decade ago and while my exchange year in Germany was a still a fresh memory. At first I completely glazed over the line, not grasping the metaphor. As we discussed it in class, the closest English comparison that I could come up with was "Oh, go jump in a lake," which was a familial way of saying "cut your crap" or "grow up." Either way, the lake--or the pepper--signified a poetic rather than a physical location. Interestingly enough, I found out recently that telling someone to "go where pepper grows" in German is akin to saying "go to hell." And it's also the name of a German travel agency... take your pick.

"Staying wherever pepper grows" is my hometown. I've always lived a somewhat nomadic lifestyle; as an Air Force brat, I never really had a choice. By the time I encountered said quote, I had already lived in seven or eight houses across four states and two countries. Fast forward another few years and I met Eric--born and raised in a small town in North Carolina all the way through high school. But after moving away to college, Eric's wanderlust manifested itself through ranch work in Wyoming, trail maintenance in Montana, and an Americorps year based out of Denver. We both managed to end up in Greenville, NC, about the same time and then moved to Philadelphia a couple years later and got married. Collectively we've probably visited three-quarters of the United States and a handful of other countries, and our hit list grows faster than we can book the travel. Birds of a feather, as they say!

About a month ago, we packed our belongings and landed at my parents' house back in NC. We're awaiting notice of Eric's residency match for the next three years: Denver, Washington D.C., or Salt Lake City? Or we might have to "scramble." One thing's for sure--we'll go wherever pepper grows.