I always like going home. It puts things in perspective. Yes, it was a great place to grow up. Yes, it's great to have your family around, especially now that we have children of our own. But, (and there is always a "but"), sometimes it's awfully nice to get back to our new home.
I suppose when you've been away from home for awhile (and I know this is true for me) that we tend to paint things the way we want to remember them (i.e. hind sight is 20/20; memories are viewed through rose colored glasses, blah, blah, blah. . . you know the cliches). Unfortunately, once I have been home for any extended period (more than 3 days) there are some things that become painfully obvious to me. As lovely as my hometown is it is severely economically depressed, hence why most of us move away. I never really thought of it that way until this last trip and my husband and I found ourselves at the local shopping mall. This was a place I loved to hang out with my friends when I was younger. A place where all local communities could gather and either shop, eat, see a movie, etc. Now this mall is like a ghost town. Long gone are a number of retailers. So much so that I noticed one end of the mall is mainly empty except for the movie theater. It made me sad to see things this way, and even sadder to know that there really isn't much I can do to change it.
I also start to remember (after 3 days or so) that living in a small town isn't always what it is cracked up to be. Yes, it's typically safer and friendlier, but there is something to be said for some anonymity. I do like to catch up on the local gossip, so I'm just as bad as the rest of "them", but it's nice to know that I'm most likely not a topic of local gossip, other than "hey did you see Danny and Sharon's daughther was home with her kids?" That's acceptable.
So on this next trip home I'll truly enjoy seeing my family who I miss terribly and maybe I'll even hit a few of the old stomping grounds, but when it's time to go back to our new home maybe I won't be as sad.
1 comment:
i'm so with you on this one. and for me it's not worth going home unless it is for an extended period, seeing as how the flight alone is 6 hours. it is SO depressing to go back there. what's even worse, though, is seeing all my HS buddies (who didn't leave) on myspace and seeing that nothing has changed and they are all still talking about the same things (partying) and the same people. it's like a horrible horrible flashback. and that mall.....wow. i think i got outta there just in time.
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