Home Is More Than a Place

The Ozark Soul Journal

August – Week Two

Welcome

Pull up a chair for a little while. The coffee’s warm, the porch is quiet, and there’s always room for one more neighbor.

This week finds me somewhere out on the highway.

As I write this, I’m traveling with another pet transport route, watching the miles roll by and thinking about home.

One of the unexpected blessings of transporting puppies over the years has been seeing so much of our beautiful country.

Every state seems to have a personality of its own.

Driving through Oklahoma, I couldn’t help but notice how clean the highways were.

Texas always amazes me with how quickly the scenery changes. In the eastern part of the state, you’re surrounded by towering pine trees. Keep driving west, and before long the landscape begins to open into wide stretches of ranch land and desert.

Arkansas has always felt familiar to me. The southern edge of the Ozarks has its own quiet beauty that reminds me why I love calling this region home.

I’ve traveled through Tennessee, admired parts of the Appalachian Mountains, and even made my way into upstate New York.

Everywhere I’ve gone has offered something worth appreciating.

That’s one of the things traveling has taught me.

Beauty isn’t reserved for one special place.

It’s waiting to be noticed wherever you happen to be.

Still…

No matter how beautiful the scenery is, somewhere along the drive my thoughts always begin drifting back home.

This week they’ve wandered into my little soap room. I’ve caught myself wondering how the newest batches are curing.

I’ve been thinking about pouring fresh lotion hearts in cozy fall fragrances, making another batch of toothpaste after selling out, and beginning work on lip balms that I’m excited to introduce later this season.

There’s even one more little surprise quietly taking shape that I hope to share with you before the end of the month.

I suppose that’s what happens when you enjoy what you do.

Even when you’re hundreds of miles away, your heart keeps wandering back to the workshop.

The miles eventually come to an end.

The puppies arrive safely with their new families.

The van turns toward home.

And before long, I’ll be back in the soap room, getting everything ready for another busy fall season.

Sometimes we spend so much time looking toward what’s next that we forget to appreciate where we are today.

So wherever this week finds you—whether you’re traveling across several states or simply sitting on your own back porch—I hope you’ll take a moment to notice something beautiful around you.

It might be a quiet country road.

A sunset.

A field of wildflowers.

Or maybe just the comfort of knowing that home is waiting at the end of the journey.

Until next Friday…

May your travels be safe, your coffee stay warm, and your heart always find its way home.

— Your neighbor in the Ozarks,

Sherry

Country Bathworks