They say, "You can never go home again."

One's home is like a delicious piece of pie you order in a restaurant on a country road one cozy evening - the best piece of pie you have ever eaten in your life - and can never find again. After you leave home, you may find yourself feeling homesick, even if you have a new home that has nicer wallpaper and a more efficient dishwasher than the home in which you grew up. ~Lemony Snicket

I started this post before I left for D.C. Tyler really touched my heart as we had driven by our old Madison house. Brian loved it for the garage, Tyler loved it because it was his home and I... Well, I felt no ties to that house and couldn't wait to get the hell out. The current owner has really let it go to the shits. It's trashed. The brick stoop Brian and I did - is falling to pieces, the retaining wall - all the pavers are stacked up into columns. There's junk galore in the carport - landscaping is gone. We kept the fence line clean of weeds and such - they have now grown over the top of the fence by 5 feet.

Seeing this really hurt Tyler's feelings. (I wished I hadn't waited so long to write as I have forgotten his exact words as they were really mature feelings.) If Tyler had it his way - we'd move back and he would attend Westview (his favorite school). Tyler loves that house because it was his "childhood home" he "grew up there" and "was born there". And here I thought we were doing something better for him by moving to a newer neighborhood with kids so he'd have tons of friends to play with. He "loved the way the sunshine came in his windows of the morning" and "the birds singing" and "the way the sun came in the living room in the evening". Yes, I too have fond memories but my memories lie within my heart and not those walls. To me home is with family no matter where you are.


My sister from another mister, Stacey, thinks it would be fun to have a reunion of all the kids that grew up on our block. There were tons!!! We had a great time growing up. Friday night you could catch us playing hide & seek, red light - green light, mother may I, & etc! Our parents were either outside drinking beer, smoking cigarettes and shooting the shit or inside playing cards or dominoes (in which they still do to this day!) I remember we'd bother them and they'd tell us to hit the road (in which we literally did and came back and asked, "what now"). Or it was "go fly a kite"! We'd kill June bugs whiling sitting under the street light. Or yank off the "glow" part of the firefly adhering them to our fingers with the bodily goo and make wedding rings. On the 4th of July we'd light our fireworks with cigarettes. I remember having an endless supply of drywall (our chalk) and we'd graffiti the street with drawings. We were never bored! Rode bikes, made up clubs, had yard sales, lemonade stands, played house & school. Hid in a deep freeze (you mean to tell me that was dangerous?!)

All & all, I would be afraid that if we did have a reunion, the feelings we once felt wouldn't be there. Every one is grown now and has their own family. Would those memories matter to them as much as it does to a few of us? Which leads me to believe - you can never go home.