You Can't Go Home Again

Next installment of the Blog-A-Week Series

First, just let me say how proud I am of myself for keeping up this Blog-A-Week thing for as long as I have. Most weeks, it's the only "fun" writing I do. I'm hoping that changes in the new year; I hope I do more non-work-related writing, that is.

They say you can't go home again, but of course you can. Just buy a ticket or get in the car and drive, and boom, you're there. I guess what they mean is, when you get there, you realize it isn't home anymore. And maybe that it hasn't been home in quite some time. Some people don't like this and hang on to the old stuff as tight as can be. Some people take it in stride, just accepting whatever they find when they get where they're going.

I haven't lived in my parents' house in more than 16 years. In some ways, it will always be my home because it is the home of my childhood, but it hasn't been my residence years. Sure, there are still remnants of my life here: a drawerful of high school certificates and awards, a bulletin board of scraps of paper that seemed important once, pictures on the fridge, but the things I find most pleasing about this home, are the new things. The things that reflect how much things have changed: a copy of the email I sent telling my folks what my fall schedule was (hanging on the fridge), the picture of me that sits on the piano of me at the Ph.D. hooding ceremony, the little chairs and toys that belong to my niece. These are the things that make me happy. The stuff from my old life? That time is over and gone and there's no use in even looking at that old stuff anymore. I should use this trip home to clean some of that stuff out. Maybe I will, if I'm feeling industrious.

You can't go home again, in the same way you can't step in the same river twice. But who wants to step in the same river twice anyway? Isn't it more fun to see what's new instead of dwelling on what's old? Isn't it better to have a life where things grow and change and evolve than one where everything stays the same? Sure, it's disappointing to see all the old places where I used to eat replaced by other stores. But that's life.

All the really important things like family and support and love don't stay exactly the same, but they do stay. And I think that's the important thing.

~Hero