North Dakota

Most of my trips home are a quick turnaround, rush in and out and back to my life of frenzy, wherever that may be. But this time I'm not on a schedule, which is exactly how you should visit North Dakota. It's a state which beckons contemplation, peacefulness and slowing down. Perfect for me while I'm in a transition phase of life, trying not to make a hasty decision about my future.

Perhaps all Americans should be visiting North Dakota. It's where neighbours who are staunch republicans can be friends with those who are bleeding heart liberals (my mom), where people greet you and thank you and mean it, where people hold the door for another entering or exiting. It's the small things.

I could say there is nothing to do here. It's too quiet. There's too much sky. Not enough trees or mountains. But those are all the things I love. I stood on my mom's front porch this evening, watching the sunset for the second night in a row, the city of Minot lying beneath it in a valley bowl. And I thought, this is something special. I know why my mom came back.