I have lived away from home for almost ten and a half years now. I have had addresses in Chicago, Virginia, and now Tacoma (multiple) during this time. Regardless, I have not been a stranger to my hometown of Bison. I have visited at least once a year during this timeframe and luckily am very close with each member of my family (who all still reside near there). I always relish the opportunity to go "home" again and visit old friends and places of my teenage years- most people do. However, this latest trip back "home" was quite different (in a way). The laughs and great times spent with my family and friends (new and old) were very much intact. My brother, Billy (http://drownbilly.blogspot.com), made us a pot roast and we were treated to countless meals and treats by my saint of a mother. Delish. We also saw "Avatar". Maybe I will write about that soon...quite the "experience". Beyond all that though, the new feeling resided in how I felt being back in the old hometown and state.
Some may chuckle, but I place tremendous value on growing up in western South Dakota. I learned so much about myself and people. I appreciate what it was and what it now means to me. It will always be the home of my youth and my family. However, this was the first time I went back and honestly felt like somewhat of a "visitor". I do not mean that in a bad way, but in a very new and comfortable way. What I take away from this feeling is that I am actually carving out a new home in the Pacific Northwest. I am making a new life- independent from my youth. I guess that means that I'm getting older, but it means more than that to me. It feels really, really good. After ten years of college, moving, deployments and other adventures, I feel like I have my own home...again.
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