You Can't Go Home Again

We drove to Austin on Saturday, to visit both my dad's grave and our old house. The cemetery in Bartlett looked good, and our flowers were still at my dad's headstone. I don't think anyone but me and Jennifer ever go out to visit. I don't understand why no one else makes the trip. I always find it cathartic.

We made the further drive to our old neighborhood in Leander. Our old house looks really good. The young couple we sold it to has taken good care of it. Our flowers and shrubs are still alive, and the flagpole is being used.

The neighborhood on the other hand was a disaster. I'm not sure if it was this bad when we lived there, and we were just used to it, or if it has gotten worse. The yards were in a bad way, cars all over the streets, it just looked like a rundown area.

On arriving back in Mansfield, we drove into our new neighborhood. We immediately felt a sense of belonging. The yards are all clean and freshly mowed, flowers blooming and the houses taken care of.

I realized you can't go home again, but that is really okay. You should always strive to move forward, and sometimes home is actually ahead of you.