My Hometown

I went on a drive on Sunday. It wasn't a long drive, just fifteen minutes away. I was craving a hamburger and feeling a little out of sorts. So I drove down to my hometown. As I don't live or work in the same county anymore, I am fairly anonymous there. Or I feel anonymous.

There are few things more centering than returning to your hometown. Familiar sights, familiar sounds and memories around every corner and even though the town has considerably grown, there are still familiar faces.

Every street has a memory: my best friend's parents house, the high school, an old boyfriend's house. The old video store. Hals. Thoughts of "Oh, they finally fixed up that house" or "Where did that street come from?" The tiny house where Kim used to live. No, not that Kim, the other Kim. The street that leads to my old apartment. Memories of mischief abound. Memories of milestones, as well. Memories that so easily get buried in the day-to-day of adulthood.

Suddenly, I'm feeling seventeen again. Young, arrogant and with opportunities all around. While I'm facing a big birthday soon, the years quickly passed away . I only spent a few minutes there, it was just a quick recharging. A remembering of what used to be and a memory of what the future was going to look like.

Luckily, my present reality and my imagined future aren't that far apart. Well done me.