I went back "home" this past weekend...up to Iowa...up to the small farming community where all my childhood memories are rooted. I was so touched and excited to be invited back for the class I would have graduated with if we had not have moved...20th class reunion. I have only seen 4 of my classmates since we moved almost 30 years ago! So, I had not seen a majority of my friends in 30 years! But, I remember every one of them! Trying to find only 20-some people on Facebook is much easier than trying to find over 500 people in my high school graduating class in Texas!
It was SO fun to see all of their familiar faces and listen to what they remembered about me and how much fun we had as kids growing up. I loved seeing their old pictures and hearing stories about the rest of their school days...who always got in trouble, who dated who, etc. And, I loved meeting all of their spouses and adorable kids! It brought back a lot of great memories!
I had thought about asking them when they knew I was adopted or if they ever saw me differently than anyone else, but just their smiling reactions to seeing me again and hearing their stories of remembering me told me all I needed to...they didn't see me any differently! And, they still don't! They were as accepting of me then as they are now and it just reminded me of how blessed we all were to grow up there when we did when life was simple and technology wasn't running our lives! We all have those solid, traditional values that our families instilled in us and it's so refreshing to see in my grown-up classmates all these years later.
I also got to catch-up with some of my cousins that I looked up to growing up and loved remembering ALL the good times growing up together! We had a lot of celebrations in our family and probably saw each other at least once a month for someone's birthday or anniversary. Those close-knit ties are what will bind all of us forever. Soooo many memories of the farm and my cousin's house. Soooo many memories of that small town, the school, the library, our church and on and on and on. I walked around our old farm remembering where everything use to be and how the landscape had changed. Soooo many emotions just driving up to our old farm and then just sitting there in my car (since it started to rain). This was my first time back "home" by myself...just me. Every other time I had been with someone from my family, so I was a little hesitant to go back by myself...but, it turned out to be a wonderful weekend for me and somewhat cathartic. I could just take it all in and enjoy every minute of it. And, here's what I wrote on my Facebook page Sunday night flying back "home".....
"Going home"...those words can mean so many different things to different people but I truly felt like I went "home" this weekend. The structure of the same town, the childhood friends that filled my heart with joy and laughter...and reminded me of how blessed we were to grow up there in the time we did (minus all this technology), and my family and ALL of our childhood memories that fill up every space of that place for me! Going home...about to fly back to my 'grown up' home.
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