Alpenhorns

Today the weather feels like summer... the jasmine, rosemary and orange blossom in the air is incredible. The hills are green and it's fabulous.

It makes me think of Switzerland in May. We put up some great competition around here, though.

This afternoon I took a brain break and watched a DVD about the Vatican. They showed a swearing-in ceremony of the Swiss Papal Guards, and at the end of the scene I heard familiar music.

Swiss alpenhorns.

When those horns sounded, I felt a swell of emotion in my gut and once again the word "identity" showed itself to be stamped in my brain. I felt and thought this the very first time I heard the horns in September of 1999. It's been a long time since anyone in my family was actually living in Switzerland, but I feel as if I were connected with generations of ancestors by that sound.

Whether I ever live there again or not, I am Swiss, and the horns sound of home.