I believe it was Horace Greeley who first coined the phrase----“You can’t go back home.” I’m sorry, Horace, if I have done damage to your words. But truly, there is a lot of truth to the saying.
Carol and I sprinted back to St. Louis and Southern Illinois to accomplish a short list of tasks. First, and foremost, we wanted to finalize the sale of our home in Fairfield. It had been on the market for almost three years and we finally found a couple who wanted it……for far below what we believed to be the value of the property. But after being sucked dry for 36 long months…..we were more than willing to unload the house.
The property had great sentimental value for both of us. It was really a lifeboat for me in a very stormy sea. It provided a place for my kids to live and it was Carol and my first home together. We really loved so much about it. We spent many wonderful nights on the screened in front porch listening to the Norfolk Southern roll through Wayne County and beyond.
The second purpose was to attend our grandchild’s second birthday party. Those few hours that Carol got to play with Lexa were worth the air fare, rental car, hotels and other expenses.
We got to see our mothers and fathers and other relatives. And we got to spend some quiet time together at the Pere Marquette Lodge, near Grafton where we were able to watch the Eagles soar over the river.
My big regret was missing my nephew’s hockey game. Sam Watson is in his senior year and has excelled at high school hockey to the extent that he is regarded as one of the best high school defensemen in the metro east. I missed his game because we saw the weather brewing in Texas and decided to grab an earlier flight in order to make our way home without being stranded in either St. Louis or Dallas. We drove home in white-out conditions, crawling along I-20 at 25 mph for hours before getting home in Snyder at four in the morning.
Here’s the upside of the trip----I treasure the time I get to spend with my parents. They don’t live together anymore but I dearly love them and find it difficult coming home after extended time away to notice they are a little grayer….a little less mobile. I enjoy spending time around my mother’s dinner table with my sister and her family. Barb might not have gone to college….but she has a PhD in parenting. A wonderful mother with a beautiful family.
And I dearly enjoy my time in Fairfield which became my adopted home during my six years of living there. Going to the Super Wal-Mart with Carol is like walking around with a rock star. We do more visiting than shopping.
With regards to Greeley----You might not be able to go home permanently-----but it sure is meaningful to blow in every now and then and see a few buds at Lewis and Clark or get a sancho at Fairfield’s Taco Tierra. It also helps me feel better about the financial plight of the state of Texas. Compared to Illinois, we don’t have any big problems.
God Bless Texas….God Save Illinois.
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