Over the past week, I took a little bit of a break from the online world (except for Instagram because, duh what is life if I can't take a peek at everyone's #ootds and flatlays) and traveled back to my small hometown in Northern California.
My hometown is, I guess you could say, more than just one town, because of close proximity to each other, it's more of a cluster of hometowns since I spent so much of my youth in each of the separate towns.
Many of you might be able to relate: when you leave your hometown, you tell yourself you'll never feel the need to come back (except for the yearly visit to relatives or if you're horrible like me, you only visit every 5 years) and nothing was ever more important than escaping for good. My hometown(s) is no London or Paris (far from it, actually) but when living there, it was way too easy to notice only the negative aspects of it.
The last trip to my hometown was about 4 years ago and it was a blurry memory of anything but happiness. This time, however, it was an unexpected delight and everything that a visit to one's hometown should be. I visited all my old favorite places (landmarks and restaurants) and saw some old faces including many relatives that I hope to see more often. It was just such a pleasant experience from start to finish that- can you believe it- I actually didn't want return to my current home!
I finally saw my hometown for what it's been all along- both good and bad- but mostly just good: a small community filled with (mostly) friendly laid back people, agriculture in abundance and warm sunshiney weather (the way it should be this time of year). It was nice to see grass again and feel the warm breezes. It was nice to be given a free bag for your purchases at a store rather than having to pay 10 cents for it. It was nice to see so many beautiful old architectural structures. It's weird to think about but so much of what I love and appreciate now is because of what I grew up knowing in my hometown community (i.e. farming/fresh produce, old homes, small towns).
Of course, I won't say I'll be moving back any time soon, if ever, but at least I'll always have a place to call home...
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