highwayThe path is familiar.

Second nature.

The first time I followed it, I was only 14.

Unable to drive.

Unable to process what it meant.

How I would change.

While the path stayed the same.

*

The first time it was the I-90 to 271, to 71, to 270, to 70…and off the highway in the middle of Indiana.

A far cry from home.

From the suburbs of Buffalo, the suburbs of Indianapolis – that felt to me more rural than suburban.

From attitudes and pride, to looking people in the eye and church.

A foreign land.

*

For three years we traversed the path between two worlds frequently.

We lingered in the past, and at the same time moved forward.

Our lives moved on, and a few years later, so did we.

We left behind Indiana and followed new paths…

Only to return again.

Not “home”…no, not New York.

“Home.” Indiana.

*

20 years later I could still drive the path blindfolded.

I know the way.

I can still find my way through my old home town, even though I learned to drive 500 miles away from it.

Instinct brings me back around.

But I don’t.

*

Now the roles are reversed.

This foreign land has become home.

Familiar.

Safe.

The last time I drove that route was 2 years ago…and it was for a funeral.

Before that, almost 4 years had passed.

I missed much.

So much it’s now foreign.

There are days I miss that land.

Days I feel my heart call me home.

But life has moved on.

And so have I.

*

I will return again.

I will eat theĀ familiar, delicious foods.

I will drive the pathways that no longer lead to the same places I remember, where strangers now live, or where the home itself has been changed.

Because a piece of me will always remember and belong.

*

Those interstate pathways carried me away.

Took me to places I never expected.

But they can never lead home again.

 

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The A-Z Challenge has over 1900 participants, all blogging from A to Z this month. Check them out and see if you can’t find a few new favorites!!

Sarah

1 Comment

  1. kaye draper

    Beautiful! It’s surreal sometimes, when you return to a place you knew so well and find it changed. when it’s no longer home.

    Happy blogging!
    Kaye Draper at Write Me

    Reply

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