oak

Well, I'm back.

It's strange going back to visit home. There's constant pressure to try to squeeze in visiting as many people as possible, and that's a lot when you lived in a place for 30 years and most of your family is there as well as most of your friends.

And you recognize everything, but it's all a little different, and it throws you off. Or you're driving somewhere that 5 years ago you wouldn't have had to think about how to get there but this time you almost get lost.

Some people are still doing the same dumb things they were doing before. Some people have moved on.

And some things feel better. More comfortable. Like I belong. Like I'm part of what's going on there.

And there's always weird little coincidences, like:
I drive through Austin on my way to visit my dad in Boerne, and I'm going to meet some friends there in Austin, but I'm early so I drive over to the neighborhood where I used to live, park the car, walk around for about a half hour, and run into a guy I knew when I lived there 17 years ago, out walking his dog.