Over the past two weeks, I’ve driven the same roads I drove twice a day going to school. I’ve run into friends and family grocery shopping, walking, and visiting the library. More often than not, I’ve look at people and thought, “That person looks familiar. How do I know them?”
There’s something about coming home that brings a feeling of familiarity…a comfort. You know where you are going (even if some of the stores have changed over and some new construction has moved in). You know where to watch your speed and where you can find coffee or a good bagel. Memories linger at every intersection and seep into your everyday movements.
Even as I walk the roads I’ve walked before, I know I am not the same person I was 12 years ago. I have three kids in the back of the car as I drive these roads now telling them stories that begin, “Well, when I was a kid…”
When life comes back around, we get this incredible chance to see who we were and then decide who we will become. We get to take all the comfort and familiarity as the foundation for the life we want to create for our own families. We get the opportunity to take a second look at what was important to us for so long and turn that into our hopes and dreams for our own children.
When life comes back around, it can seem overwhelming and impossible at first. But when the road clears to come back home, don’t turn on autopilot. Look, remember, and listen. Who you are becoming is whispering right up ahead.