Journies

Hope the way is long.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, with what joy,
you shall enter first-seen harbors....
Keep Ithaca always on your mind.
Arriving there is what has been ordained for you.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts many years;
and you dock an old man on the island,
rich with all that you've gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to give you wealth.
Ithaca gave you the beautiful journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing more to give you.
-Excerpt from "Ithaca"- Constantine Cavafy

The end of the journey is not nearly as important as the journey itself.
I find myself replacing the word "Ithaca" with "Buffalo".
You love the hometown, but it gives you a reason to leave, and gives you a reason to come back, but don't hurry, she has nothing more for you.