Home Again

(Note: I actually wrote this a few days ago and forgot to post it for some reason. I say this because I'm in the middle of writing about today's exploits, and it feels odd not to have a few days' separation between the posts. Maybe I'll put off the other until tomorrow. Maybe it doesn't matter. Meh. Anyway:)

It’s done. I’ve traded surface-of-the-sun heat for muggy humidity, mesquite trees for pine, caliche for red clay. Texas for Georgia.

It’s been a few days now, most of it spent either reconnecting with my young daughter or unpacking and settling into Dad’s house – my childhood home.

I did squeeze in one short ride the other night, just taking random turns here and there through my hometown, a place that’s changed quite a lot in 29 years. I rode past old childhood and high school friends’ childhood homes, wondering if their parents were still there, knowing in most cases that they weren’t. I wheeled past my old high school, noting that they’d added several temporary buildings to accommodate a larger student population. I went past several old employers, or the addresses, anyway. The buildings are all there, but different companies occupy them now. I even rolled through the parking lot of the church my family attended while I was growing up. Leaving that, I passed my mother’s alma mater, then I was slightly surprised to find myself in the same place I got my first speeding ticket over 30 years ago. I may or may not have been cruising along right about the same speed…..

So things change, things stay the same, the big globe keeps spinning, and we keep twisting that throttle.

Can you go home again?

I’ll let you know how the re-exploration of my hometown and its surroundings goes as I get settled in.