Places We Know Well

We traveled from home to a place we know well, to patterns that are long established, and routines that have existed for years. Yet, in the midst of all the "going back," there was a realization that things have changed. We have aged, and so the things that move us aren't exactly the same. We have lived through another year of new experiences, and so our view of things is influenced by that. The place has been growing and changing in our absence, so what we remember is still there, but slightly different. What we want and need has shifted, just a little, so what we will take away from this time will shift as well. What we feel has been shaped by change and challenge, and so we arrive with different strengths and different weaknesses. Home has changed in all sorts of little ways, and so "away from home" means all sorts of different things. Tradition mixes with change, away mixes with home, "the same" mixes with "brand new."
 
But perhaps that's just how life is--ever updating what we think we know, ever changing what it means to say "return" or "comfort" or "the same."
 
We traveled from home to a place we know well, and we discovered that we still have a lot to discover...