The miles are getting longer, it seems, the closer I get to you (Daughtry)

Adam posted a very poignant message on his Facebook page:

One year ago today I said BYEBYE to Japan. Every day I think about all the cool stuff I did there and all the people I met and all the horribly awkward and anxiety producing situations I dealt with inside and outside of work. I'm pretty sure Ive thought about my two years there every morning when I wake up and feel lucky that I was able to do it! Sounds tragic but part of my soul feels left behind there.

He's a deep thinker is our Adam. I know how he feels.

All of the photos of Adam when he's in Japan (like the one above) tell a story: one of happiness, fulfillingness, rightness...joy.

I feel exactly the same as he does about when I lived in England. I felt, for the first time in my life, that I belonged somewhere. That sounds like crazy talk. I was born in Auckland New Zealand, lived there until we moved to England in 2004 when I was all grown up. But I've always felt a disconnect with other Kiwis and with NZ.

I often think about that first visit to England and specifically Rochdale in 2003. That overpowering feeling of being comfortable, belonging, being home. It overwhelmed me then and my soul (like Adam's to Japan) connected to the place.

When we settled in Essex that feeling stayed with me until we left at the start of 2007.

I noticed someone on Adam's Facebook message wrote something along the lines of - go back there! But life is not always that easy, is it. For one thing there are other people to consider and for another there are financial considerations (pesky things called 'jobs').

Still...

Love and peace - Adam Lennon Purdy's dad