Day 102: Oh Shenandoah

The days away from home are starting to take their toll. As a hobbit I am naturally a homebody. I can’t stand being away from my hometown for long periods of time. Though I love the mountain my college is on, my heart forever belongs to the pastoral rolling hills of Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Shenandoah. 

My walk was gorgeous. The trail was abandoned save for me and a few chipmunks. The mountains surrounded me, with the sun peeking out from behind grey clouds. The river far below glinted in the morning light. A chilly breeze toyed with my skirt and the leaves of changing colours. My cloak protected me from the chill of the early morning as my breath escaped in white puffs, a short vapor in the wind before it was gone. 

For some odd reason I decided to take my MP3 player with me on my walk. As I was heading away from campus and back into the mountains the old folk song “Oh Shenandoah” played. I stopped dead in my tracks. That song is one I have associated with home ever since I was a little girl. My family would take holidays and hiking trips up at Skyline drive in the mountains. Almost every trip I remember a local band playing that song. The mountains I grew up in surrounded the Shenandoah Valley. This was home come to haunt me when I was missing it the most.

I’ve often wondered if Frodo ever missed the Shire. Nostalgia, melancholy, and homesickness are all powerful and profound emotions. Given that Frodo was still in love with the Shire when he left, it would seem likely that he missed his home. There is much evidence throughout the books that Sam missed the Shire greatly. One such proof is Sam’s attachment to his pots and pans; another is that Sam carries seasonings from the Shire in a little box. Just in case, Sam assures. The idea that Frodo and the hobbits loved and dearly missed the Shire is both a heartwarming and a melancholy one. The hobbits left to protect the Shire, and throughout their journey there is evidence that they want to go back to the Shire and the way things were. The melancholy part is that hobbits would never go back see the Shire the way it was. They would fight for their beloved home, but each with some dread that they would likely never see it again. The hobbits were willing to give up their home in order to save it. This idea will come into play for Frodo and Sam at the end Tolkien’s epic in what I consider to be one of the saddest moments of the book; but more on that later. 

For right now, it is enough for me to realize that the hobbits very likely missed home, missed their friends and the way things were. They loved it enough to sacrifice their lives for it and those they knew and held dear. The hobbits, along with many of Middle Earth, were going to war to save their world, their home. 

I am not faced with such a prospect. Home is still there and nothing much, except population growth, is threatening it. I can still go back when I want to; I can see those I’ve left behind. But I’m still filled with such nostalgia and melancholy when I think about it; after all, I left my heart there. How much more did the hobbits miss their home, the home they were willing to die protecting, the people they were willing to lay their lives down for, the future they were trying to secure knowing there was a possibility they wouldn’t be there to see that future? 

The road goes ever on and on,
~ Daisy Buttons

Day 101: Of Parties and Fun

The weekend brought with it more social engagements than I could ever handle. Homecoming weekend has hit our mountain and the campus is crawling with alum. In the spirit of my attempted hobbit lifestyle, I invited friends over for tea and visited with former students at dinner. A brief respite in the afternoon was all the time I had on this busy day to hike the trails. Though I managed 4.07 miles (6.55 km), I was not nearly ready to be done when it came time to turn back. Later in the evening I dressed up in my best and attended the school production of Pride and Prejudice. The play was over all too soon and time still remained to attend the jazz dance held on the overlook every year in honour of homecoming weekend. This dance is often considered one of the favourite events of the year by the majority of the student body. 

The dance was just as much fun as I had remembered. A live jazz band played late into the night as students danced on the overlook. Far below the lights of the valley twinkled brightly and far above the light of the moon shone through the clouds. I’ve never been the best at dancing, but I have always enjoyed it. There’s just something about staying up with friends, dancing to great music, eating good food, and telling stories late into the night. This year was no exception and I had fun cavorting about the dance floor and raiding snack stations until well after midnight. But eventually the night did come to an end and I made my way back to my room to sleep away the few hours remaining until dawn. 

For the hobbits, the party was just ending and their journey beginning again. The time spent in the Last Homely House was coming to a close. Though the hobbits likely never dreamed of going beyond Rivendell and were quite relieved to have made it to the Last Homely House with the ring, they were now faced with traveling beyond even the scopes of their imagination to the land of Mordor. Their quest: to destroy the ring. The journey promised to be long, arduous, and full of peril. I doubt the hobbits fully knew what they were getting into when they agreed to undertake such a task. 

The road goes ever on and on, 

~ Daisy Buttons