His home is his life; he cannot just get up and walk away from it. "From the window he could see, far away, just on the horizon, a long, blue, hazy smear - Lake Michigan, the inland sea of his childhood- (Cather 20).
When he gets married, he moves away to a house by the lake where he grew up. His life by the lake is so important to him that he moves closer to the lakeside. St. Peter lives in a house with his family, where his daughters grow up. "Professor St. Peter was alone in the dismantled house where he had lived ever since his marriage, where he had worked out his career and brought up his two daughters- (Cather 3). He loves this house with all of his heart, but when his wife tells him they are moving, it makes him rebel. His life is revolves around the house making him stay while his family leaves. His roots are around lake Michigan where his life begins. St. Peter's life is spent away from his roots for a long time, until he realizes how important it means to him.
However, John and St. Peter went through their mid-life crises, and both of them now realize that how the beginning is started is how the end will end. During John's mid-life crisis, he takes life more seriously and revisits the past. He goes to work at a radio station, eventually thinking of making a restaurant on a farm. He meets Alida Freeman, a historian who is writing a book on 19th century Norwegian naturopath, who comes to visit him every weekend. She loves him and helps him go through difficult times. John goes back home to visit his family, when he is on the way there he stops in a café. The café reminds him of many old memories with his childhood. He tells his parents about Alida, work, and his life. He thinks about his life and how boring it has become. " and then they sang we shall Overcome', and a sweet memory of my younger, finer self brought tears to my eyes and I looked around at my comfortable, aimless life and wondered where I had jumped the tracks- (Keillor 24).