Birthday Wisdom

As I tie a pretty ribbon around my 33rd year (seriously, how am I 34 already??!!), I always try to spend a few moments reflecting on what the previous year taught and brought me wisdom wise. Without further ado...

Some things really are worth waiting for. Sometimes you'll wait longer than you think for things you will and you will know when the time is right. The Lord's timing is ALWAYS right. Career moves are hard. Working in the same place for almost 10 years is something to admire in our fast paced, ever changing world, but it can also be challenging when you move on and become the newbie somewhere else. Being the new person is hard. Pod units containing all of your earthly possessions don't always arrive as guaranteed so plan accordingly. Moving into someone else's home is an experience that requires patience, understanding, respect of someone else's space and routine (on both sides), and lots of wine and Kleenex. Marriage is incredibly amazing. Marriage is incredibly challenging. Marriage is worth the challenge. Patience is a virtue. I do not possess said virtue. Wedding planning can be the most stressful and yet fun time in your life. Don't sweat the small wedding stuff, but instead make the small stuff where you and husband can be found during that special day. Details can be the best part of any day, especially your wedding day. People still carry their brides across the threshold. My husband carried me while I carried our sweet dog. Moments like that are priceless, even at 3:00 am after driving for 17 hours to your new home together. I watch too much MTV crap TV. I watch too much crap TV in general. I'm obsessed with the Property Brothers. Cooking makes the swirl in brain stop for a moment. Blogging makes the same swirl stop. You can go home, unlike the song lyrics say. Family is a gift. Cherish that gift. Illinois winters aren't as bad as I thought they'd be after 16 years at the beach. Today is the coldest day we've had this winter, Happy Birthday to me. I'm more coordinated on ice skates than I am in heels during an Illinois winter. I miss the beach and my church and my friends every day. I've loved the creation process of new friendships here. I think my Charleston friends and my Rockford friends would all be friends if location wasn't an issue. The time of night when we turn the TV off and chat and laugh as a small family of 3 is my favorite entertainment of the day. My husband's laugh, like his REAL belly laugh, makes me laugh until I cry. You can leave the south, but the south doesn't leave you. It's in your blood and in your heart. Forever.

Life Lessons from The Bachelor

As an avid Bachelor fan, do I truly believe that one can find real and lasting love through ABC's relationship experiement of a show...probably not so much based on their track record (but I'm still optimistic!).

What I can tell you that I believe, without a doubt, is that there are many a good life lessons to be learned within the 2 hour whirlwind of drama, dates, and quite frankly, some very attractive hot messes.

Life lesson #1- Please remember that people are watching. At all times. Including your mother.
After over a decade of watching this franchise, I'm still amazed at the things people say and do during their 15 minutes of fame. Would you ever pull a silk necktie out of your formal gown within the first 2 minutes of a real date? If you answered yes to that question, I can in return answer your question as to why you're still single. Because you're riding the crazy train and 95% of America is afraid of you. Period. WE'RE ALL meeting you through this show, and although we don't mean to, we're also judging your words and actions throughout the process. Show us and your future man a little class. Trust me, it'll go a loooonnggg way. Your mother will thank you as well, along with your possible future mother in law who will have to justify your actions at future family gatherings.

Life lesson #2- Know your audience.
If anyone watched Sean last season or if they've seen anything about him in the media leading up to this season, you'd know he's a family man who loves the Lord (Amen, Sean!). If you don't know those two fundamental things about the man that you claim to love from the get go, well then you may want to spend some more time doing your research instead of planning your LA wardrobe and hitting the gym. Wiping out all of your "50 Shades" knowledge is probably going to lead Sean to pray for you more so than leading you to that coveted rose. Do your research; know your audience. And stop creeping the rest of us out! If I had a dollar for everytime I said "who does that?" outloud while watching this show, I'd probably be able to fly to Fiji with the Chris Harrison.

Life lesson #3- Drunk looks good on no one. Ever.
I like my wine like anyone else, however a little water goes a long way. If this is the moment you've been waiting and praying for, auditioning  and planning for, maybe step away from the free booze for one night. ITS JUST ONE NIGHT. If you can drink responsibly, then go ahead and get you one of those delicious mojitos to loosen up a bit, but I assure you that no one, Sean included, has anxiously awaited finding true love in the girl who is the reigning champion of "flip cup" or "beer pong" at every party they attend. This is your big break, please hydrate for the love of all things. Say it with me "water then wine, water then wine, water, a little more water, and then a glass of wine".

Life lesson #4- Less really is more.
This lesson is really the most wide reaching of them all. Less can be so much more when it comes to: tanning (both via bed and via spray), showing skin, talking about yourself, talking about other people, booty dancing when no one else is dancing and without actual musical accompaniment, hair extensions, and make-up. More is more and I don't have to be a rocket scientist to recognize that truth. Especially with a large screen HD viewing. Yikes.

Life lesson #5- When meeting someone for the first time, be yourself. Gimmicks come off as just that, gimmicky.
Don't sing and dance to get someone's attention or approval. Just be you and if they don't like you for being you, they certainly don't want to hear you sing. We're all beautiful in our own way and we all have something to offer this world. Don't hide behind cheesiness, let your light shine au natural! Can you imagine if everyone constantly had to walk around like tap-dancing clowns to prove their worth and creativity through song and dance and acrobatics all day long? I'd never leave the house. It'd be exhausting, irritating and awkward. Much like the opening limo encounters of this show. I kid you not, I literally hide behind a pillow a few times every season because I want the scene to end. Pronto.

Life lesson #6- Too many women in one place is too many.
During seasons of the Bachelorette, I LOVE watching the house scenes when it's just a bunch of dudes chilling. The guys are funny, active, and often times simply jovial. That same house full of women ALWAYS sends someone to the hospital. We're an amazing gender with so much beauty, strenght, wisdon, and HORMONES. Too many of us in one space is never good. Someone is going to lose an eye and their dignity in one swoop.

ABC and The Bachelor, thank you for your creative masterpiece, along with a few life

lessons over the years. You certainly are the most dramatic show ever.

And for that I'd give you a rose every day of the week!

My Hubby Rocks

I've always known I was a lucky girl when it comes to many, many things in life. When it comes to my hubby, that same luck rings true.

Although, like any other wife person, I'm often the hardest on those that I love the most. I'm not proud of it, but I'm aware of it and working on it. Why do we this? I guess because we can be tough on them, we can say things to them that we shouldn't or wouldn't dream of saying to a stranger/coworker/friend for fear of being punched in the throat or being unfriended on Facebook, as they're just always supposed to love us by design, right? Our families and hubbies sort of have to love us in spite of our short coming, mood swings, and un-loveliness at times, or so we think. But when they can love us through those moments, well, then we should sing their praises from the mountain tops. Or at the very least, blog about 'em. Duh.

So here it is, the top 5 reasons my husband rocks (even when I don't, Bless his heart!):

• He makes my coffee every weekday morning. Really. Every day I awake to my Tervis tumbler warmly cradling my low-fat milk, 2 splenda coffee. Delish. But what about the days when we run out of coffee like today, you ask? Well, he thoughtfully leaves said Tervis tumbler out with a fresh K-cup and 2 splendas stacked on top so that I just have to throw in the little pod and viola! Hot coffee in seconds.

• He fills my humidifier tank with water on the sly (although I did bust him on accident when he was quietly filling it the other night. He looked like a kid who got caught doing something horribly wrong. Fill on, my brotha! I didn't see a thaaannng!) I don't know why, but I despise filling that tank all the time. Well the hubs caught on and started to fill it at random times for me. Ahhh, it's the simple things.

• He randomly fills my gas tank. Are you sensing a pattern here? I apparently hate filling things. Who knew? Every once in awhile, I'll hop in the car and there it is...a full tank of gas. Hallelujah!

• He takes the Pig out in the middle of the night, almost every night, even when it's FREEZING. And that right there, folks, is what a keeper looks like! He knows that I'm afraid of the larger wildlife in our yard, granted only at night when coyotes might be out, so when the Piggy needs to go outside in the middle of the night, the hubs is the one to do it. Bless him again.

• He does 90% of our laundry every week and I never had to ask. Don't get me wrong, we hit a few bumps in the road as he learned the hard way  which of my things he couldn't dry or that I never wash my clothes in hot water or everything shrinks, but he washes, dries, hangs, and folds. It rocks. And therefore, consider this blog my mountain and these words my song!

Thanks to my hubby for everything you see in this post and so much more. He's the bomb.com and I am a lucky girl. Now if only I could teach him how to paint my nails.....JUST KIDDING, babe!!! I'll settle for the rights to watch the Bachelor premier on the College Football Championship game night;) That's right, udda man!

2013- Ready or Not!

I've never really been one to make New Year resolutions, mostly because when I have, they've never seemed to stick. However with 2013 upon us, and with the amazing year of 2012 now behind us and cheering me on, I figured "why not?"!

Please keep in mind that although I am an optimist, I'm also very much a realist, so you will not find anything ridiculous on my list like run a half marathon (sorry, handsome hubby, that one is still 110% your deal!) or hike the Appalachian Trail, swim with sharks, etc...

2013, I hope to share with you the following goals/moments/milestones:

• Continue working on Simply Vintage and giving it our best shot at success with our first Bridal Expo in 2 weeks (eeekkkk!)
• Stop joking about how out of shape I am and get healthier. I literally worked out once between June 1st and Dec. 31st and that is just sad and gross. So, without further ado, I kicked off a new workout plan last night. In my own kitchen. While Wrigley stared in utter confusion. Which means I am sore today. But, hey, at least it's one day down and I followed through on my goal of starting it Jan. 2nd. Booyah!
• Continue developing my recent passion for cooking new and tasty meals for my hubby. I shared with the hubby last night that when my life was turned upside down with the move 1,000 miles away from my home and then our home being turned upside down with repairs, cooking became one of the few things that made sense as a new wife. I could find a recipe, follow the instructions and boom- we'd have a great meal together amongst the other chaos. Cooking made sense when other things didn't.
• Plus it's nice to know that I have a hubby who never goes without a warm and usually tasty dinner after he works so hard to provide for the Pig and me. He claims he's packed on some lbs. from my new hobby though. Oops!
• Continue my love of reading. I consider myself lucky to be someone who gets totally lost in movies and books, so much so that once either one is over, the story lines and characters aren't done in my head. There's nothing better than getting lost in another world through a good book and I plan to keep that up in 2013. Any awesome book suggestions out there?
• Start a family.
• Find my volunteer niche in my new community, while still being involved in my old one through Cinderella Day 2013.
• Find a married couples small group/Bible study that suits both the hubby and myself. If you're not growing, you're dying, so we better get on the growing in our new church. We've got things to learn, friends to make, and Lord to love!

What does 2013 have in store for you? Let's make this year our best one yet!

Homemade Christmas

Per a previous post about what I quite frankly ain't got time for around the holidays, I thought I'd share with you a few projects that I did find the time to tackle. And to be honest with you, they were some of my favorite holiday touches this year, although I do think my hubby might worry that he married one of Santa's elves due to the level of excitement I reached upon their completion, and how for a few days our home slightly resembled santa's workshop.

Project 1- A Vintage Button Reindeer-
Thanks to good ole Pinterest, I stumbled across a button reindeer and knew in that moment that I simply had to have it! So on Thanksgiving day, after our amazing meal, my grandma, aunt, my mom and I all sat around the table and sorted through my grandma's button collection. That hour or so might very well be my favorite part of this project. It was fun just to sit and chat while sorting through about 40 years of buttons.

Once I had the buttons, the challenging part was fitting them all together to resemble a reindeer. After only a few hot glue burns, some burlap for the matte and bow, a vintage frame for $7, my "button buck" as one cousin called him, was complete. And I just love her mismatched self!

Project 2- Mason Jar (Waterless) Snow Globes-
After spotting a few of these mason globes, with mark-up prices of $15-20 a pop, I decided that it wouldn't be impossible to make my own for WAY less. Seeing as how I'm already a mason jar hoarder collector, I stopped by one of my favorite antique spots to hunt down mini trees and props, grabbed some fake snow and busted out the ole glue gun once more. The fun part of these guys was creating each scene itself. I was so proud of my "noel" bunting too, since it was so teeny tiny and anything tiny is oh so fun, especially when you make it yourself. Some trees got ornaments, while others just collected a few snow flakes for that still in the woods kind of feel. In the end, I yet again, love my project results and I hope you do too!

Project 3- Felt Animal Dolls-
After inheriting a niece through marriage, I wanted to try and start a tradition of making her something special and girlie every Christmas versus just running out and purchasing something off of the shelf. So to kick-off this tradition, I decided to try my hand at felt animals with a sassy little wardrobe. I was super pumped with how they turned out seeing as how I didn't have a pattern to follow and I am NO artist.

I had so much fun designing their outfits, with some of my favorite touches being black heels (every felt piggy needs a pair of black heels, duh), pink bikini for the beach, a tutu and matching glitter bow, an 80's-ish over sized t-shirt dress and headband, and a yellow hat with a black feather touch for those days when the frog might need to catch a train to California in her black and white summer dress set. Can you tell I day dreamed about where the animals might wear their new wardrobe?! After it was complete and my chest was swollen with amateur pride, I signed the back for her our names and Christmas 2012 and wrapped up my little handmade memento. I'm not 100% she loved it as much as I did, maybe due to her only being 4, but I'm hoping she'll sit down with it someday and give it a whirl. It'd be a shame for that piggy to never get to be the ballerina that I envisioned;)

All in all, I'm so pleased with the projects that I did lend my time to and I've learned that with every homemade project that you complete, you leave your thumbprint on that item and you just can't find that in a store. There's something special about creating something from scratch and watching it unfold before your very eyes. It's priceless.

Heavy.

Heavy.

That's how I feel. The last 96 hours have been such a mix of emotions for so many people and I just feel the type of heavy that makes it almost impossible to breath.

I cannot imagine how those that lost loved ones on Friday must feel. The best that I can hope for them is to still be in the stages of numbing loss. My brain can't fathom what they feel now and in the days to come. Or forever for that matter. I'm guessing that heavy doesn't even begin to touch on what they feel on a good day.

On Saturday morning some of the crush that my chest felt the day before was lifted. Spending a few hours watching foster and adopted children experience a Christmas party thrown in their honor was a welcomed break from the media. There were smiles, giggles, cute Christmas dresses with plaid skirts, and cupcakes to decorate til their heart's content. There were real reindeer, and wish lists, and there was even dancing. A cheesy song that usually causes me to turn the station, made me stop and smile and soak in the moment of adults dressed as reindeer and snowmen dancing with a few kids as the lyrics "we need a little Christmas, right this very minute" rang through the room. We did need a little Christmas. We needed a break from the sadness, as selfish as that sounds. But it's true. We needed to see and touch real reindeer, we needed to see the magic of Santa climbing into his sleigh, and we needed to see children dance with abandon. Right that very minute.

Christmas is magical in its core. Christmas is a miracle in its simplest form. Regardless of what we've made it, Jesus came on "Christmas" to give us life, light, and hope.

The one Christmas carol line that ALWAYS speaks to me, regardless of who is singing, is from my favorite carol O Holy Night. Those words "A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn" get me every single time.

Weary.

It's such a powerful word. When I hear that line I'm both sad and hopeful at the same time. The sad part of me awakens because I get it. I feel it. There's just so much "weight" around  us on a daily basis that is taxing on a soul. But then it also makes me hopeful that someone wrote this song in the 1800's and they were apparently weary too, which makes my weariness feel known, recognized and almost validated. There's something about a shared sense of worn combined with hope that can comfort across the decades and even centuries. Times have changed, but hearts have not and I connect with that. Every single time I hear those words.

We're weary at best right now. I don't know about anyone else, but rejoice isn't what I'm inclined to do today. Worry and fear, those seem a bit more close to the vest as I type.

So what do we do? How do we combat the worn and weary with hope and light and life?

My guess is that we cling to the true Christmas. To the meaning behind the trees and presents and the lights and carols. My guess is that we hold on tight to the promise of a new morn. A morn that's a bit less heavy than the one before it. My guess is that when it feels like we can't take a deep breath, we do it anyway and we do it for those that cannot anymore.

And my guess is that we pray. We pray for the original light and hope and peace that the Lord came to bring.

We do need a little Christmas, right this very minute, but we need Jesus more. Only He can take us from weary and heavy to light and life.

Ain't Nobody Got Time For That, Pinterest!

My family loves us some Sweet Brown. If you haven't meet her gloriousness yet, take about 45 seconds and check her out here http://youtu.be/udS-OcNtSWo.
As I scroll through image upon image thanks to Facebook and Pinterest, I struggle between what one human can realistically complete in the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas, and what quite frankly I just ain't got time for.

If it were up to Pinterest, I would spend my evenings listening to holiday carols of yesteryear while...

• Wrapping the base of my entire wine glass collection in tinsel for our party guests. Cute, but um, no.
• Have 7 different trees in my home, all with different themes, and every one of them looking like Martha S. herself stopped by and just "whipped up a lil somethin' somethin'".
• Wrapping individual chocolate chips in foil for little elf on the shelf sized hershey kisses. Seriously, who DOES have time for that?! I'd like to meet that person outside of their Pinterest haze.
• And while I'm on the topic, I don't really understand the whole elf on the shelf bandwagon anyway. Granted, I may eat my words once I have kids, but A) I'm pretty sure he'll have faded from coolness by the time my future kiddos are old enough to understand  B) I'm hoping by then parents will realize that he/she is more effort than they're worth. I hate cleaning up messes already, so why would I EVER want to make a mess, blame it on an elf of which I have to constantly remember to move, and then have to clean up said mess myself?! That's just crazy town, y'all! My kids will be more worried about me narking them out to Santa than some plastic elf, trust me on that one! and finally C) I hope to have plenty of magic in our home with Jesus' miraculous birth and the magic of Santa himself. Done and done.

And just to give you a few beautiful, yet annoying visuals, Pinterest would also have me...

Make miles of garland out of the 8,423 ball ornaments that I happen to have laying around. Riiggghhtt.

Package adorable vintage-esque homemade macaroons and adorn them with hand covered buttons and twine. Have you ever tired to make macaroons? They're no joke. If I tackle this some day, count on Chips A'hoy inside those cute little boxes.

Construct a 4-D Veggie Christmas tree. That thing is so intricate that I'd be furious if anyone so much as touched one of the carrots let alone ate them. #backawayfromtheveggies

Paint teeny tiny Christmas trees on each of my nails. Sadly I don't even have the patience or skill level to simply paint them red without smudges.

Hide surprise strawberries in my perfectly erected Christmas tree cupcakes. Surprise, you'll enjoy my store bought cupcakes instead!

Make the world's cutest hot cocoa stirs. Again, adorable, I get it. But on a side note, who wants jelly beans in your cocoa anyway? Not this chica.

Construct homemade candy cane vases for my holiday centerpieces. Um, I wasn't even aware that I was supposed to offer holiday centerpieces.  In my family, you just put delicious food on the table and every one's happy. I don't ever recall anyone saying "Grandma, this ham is amazing, but where's your roses?"

Pinterest, I love you. I really do.

You challenge me daily to be a more creative homeowner, you bring laughter to my lips every time I see a puppy wearing glasses or a squirrel wearing pajamas, and you put delicious new recipes on my table that look like a million bucks but incredibly only had 4 ingredients...

But this year, when it comes to your overzealous outlook on Christmas, Ain't nobody got time for that!

At least not in my home.

House Warming Prep

This weekend, after what feels like foreva, foreva-eva, we're finally having a little house warming par-tay at the Freiberg Plantation. I'm both excited and anxious all at the same time. The actual party will be both the easy and the fun part. The prep on all of the last minute home projects, um, not so much fun.

I'm seriously considering moving the event back a few hours so that people see the exterior of our home sans the brutal honesty of sunlight. With everything that needed to be done, coupled with minor disasters that forced themselves upon us this summer/fall, we've had to focus on one of two areas, inside versus outside. And seeing as how we don't live on the outside of our little nest, ALL of our attention went to the interior. Duh.

What does that mean for the exterior, you ask? Lots of random projects and flaws that I'm just praying no one notices. Our girl needs a major face lift and you can't pant this time of year, so there she'll sit. Untouched, with all of her flaws out there for the world to see.

Would it be weird to ask all of my friends to look directly at the ground as they approach our casa, at least until they are directly, like I'm talking nose practically touching the front door close? Probably a little weird and a little awkward. For the guests. Not me. I'd love it.

On the horizon this week for the hostess (and host) with the most (at least the most home improvements):

• Painting our main hallway and ceiling
• Switching out a light fixture here and there
• Painting a boatload of trim
• Deep cleaning of anything, both nailed and not nailed down
• Hanging some final things around the house
• Spray painting a few curtain rods for a quick, inexpensive update
• Steaming some new curtains
• Trying to cover the world's ugliest AC unit that some genius previous owner built straight into the living room wall in the 70's. No joke, this thing is brown and tan and has duct tape accents. What in the world?! Who approved this hot mess?? I need names people! *Side note, the outside of this eye sore is smack dab in the middle of the front exterior of our home too. And it gets better....the exterior is wrapped in garbage bags and wrapped with duct tape. I kid you not. It makes me want to cry. If it were up to me, I'd just spray paint that bad boy , but I'm afraid it must leak if they have it so tightly wrapped in plastic. Eventually that thing is a goner, but for now, in an effort to slightly improve the situation, I have plans to build a cover for it. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

So, there you have it. My list of projects to tackle this week. Let the fun begin!

And if I ever get one of those "if you could have dinner with any 3-4 impactful people, both alive and now deceased" perfect dinner party scenarios, I can confidently say that it will include the following people of impact on my life:
1. Jesus, of course
2. Oprah, still love that woman
3. My Grandpa Howard
4. The previous owners of our home so that I can ask many a burning question, with the number one being "What on earth is up with the hideous AC vent held together by duct tape in the middle of my living room wall? The wall?? Really???!! I believe that's what window units were for, kind sir. Now please enjoy your dinner with us this evening. You will find your plate duct tapped to the bathroom wall for  convenience. I know, I know, it seems a bit odd, but it worked for us at the time, you see. I hope you enjoy tonight's meal!"

Giving Challenge Update

Apparently my church in SC recently kicked off a 100K gift challenge, so it appears that this season in so many people's lives is about giving and not just about shopping. Let's keep this ball rolling and keep the love abounding!

As part of my challenge, the following small tasks and gifts have popped up on my radar:

• I've been able to contribute, albeit small amounts, to our church's compassion offering this holiday season, to a local foundation in memory of a co-worker's sister who recently passed, and to another organization that works with the young woman in our community.
• The hubby and I have signed up to work at a Christmas event at our church that celebrates the many families in our congregation who are foster or safe families. The hubs will help serve the meal and I'll get to make crafts with the kiddos. There is a small rumor that I may have to dress like an elf. #takinguglysweaterpartiestothenextlevel
• I've bought lunch for another person.
• I've filled out applications to volunteer with Rock House Kids and Safe Families in our community. I might as well take advantage of this time that I have before we have kiddos of our own!
• I'm now on a committee to bring awareness to our local Habitat for Humanity at a race this April. We'll create a kids corner at the race expo, work with previous habitat home recipients, and are planning a pasta dinner the night before. Carb loadin' y'all!

On the horizon are some fun opportunities that I'm still working on, but I'm pretty sure they'll involve:

• Our house warming party will have some giving elements to it...party with a purpose!
• Our mail man (he's awesome, by the way)
• Our garbage men
• The church across the street from my home
• The cleaning woman at our office

The possibilities are endless and the needs are great. Let's get er done!

You Can't Go Home Again

When Thomas Wolfe said "You can't go home again", he wasn't telling the whole story. You can go back, Mr. Wolfe. You most certainly can. Will there be challenges? Indeed. Will it be bittersweet at times? Most definitely. There may even be tears at times, but you can, certainly, go back home.

And guess what, Mr. Wolfe? It still feels like home. Cozy in some moments like you never even left, and exciting in other moments like this is your first time visiting. It's a sweet crash of old versus new, change versus tried and true.

I'm learning that being near family is a wonderful gift. It's something that I've missed over the last 16 years, and it's something I'm cherishing these days. Tonight, for example, I'm having my mom and grandma over for cookies, ice cream and cocoa, and Friday evening we had a fun triple date with Tim's family that kicked off in our home, both of which are things I've never been able to do as an adult up until now. I'm able to plant and create a home where I can share new memories and old traditions with relatives whom I saw only a few times a year before. It's precious and priceless, and what keeps me going when I ache for my other home near the beach.

I'm also learning that although your home may have changed upon on your return, so have you. You're different. You've grown. You've once left your nest to sink or swim, and you swam. You swam for your life at times, but the fact is that you swam on your own. You've adapted to life and the ups and downs that accompany the years under your belt. You may be a bit more worn in some areas, but you also bring back new perspectives and new stories to share. Many of your stories involve people who may never get to experience your new home, but that doesn't change anything. Their still your stories and your people.

And so it goes for the place you once, and now again, call home. It too has changed.

Time doesn't stop when you leave, nor does it start again when you arrive. It's experienced change and growth as well. Driving by places you loved and frequented as a child might seem a bit more worn, dim or smaller than your once wee little brain recollected. While other areas might be flourishing and holding the promise of new adventures and new stories for you to experience.

And just like that, you find yourself engulfed with the acquainted warmth of home. Almost like you never left.

My guess is that you never really did. Or at least part of you stayed where it was familiar, as small or as large as you wanted/needed home to be, and as cozy a family gathered around a Christmas tree just as they had for decades before.

So, yes, Mr. Wolfe, you can go home again. Both changed and unchanged, it still feels wonderful.