10 February 2017

A Quick Return To Our Old Stomping Grounds

I am in Santa Monica today to attend a funeral tomorrow. It's a sad occasion but also my first real return to our neighborhood and circle of friends there since we moved. It will be good to see many much loved faces and to be back in our old city for a while.


I am traveling alone and planning brunch with a friend, taking care of a couple of business items, getting a mani-pedi at my old neighborhood nail salon, and will get some beach time Sunday afternoon when it's supposed to be warm and sunny. Friday it's supposed to rain all day and I'm debating whether I take full rain gear or just a slicker to go over a jacket or sweater. I was hoping to just take one pair of sandals and a pair of flip flops but that doesn't seem like it's going to work now.

I'm trying to make a list of favorite places to eat and fun shop areas to wander while I'm there and it's crazy to say I've already forgotten a lot. I find that so strange when you live in a place most of your adult life and two years later you are having problems remembering street names and favorite restaurants and fast food joints. I will have a decent amount of time on my on on both ends of the trip so I want to make sure I make good use of my time and make it great and soul-filling. There are a hundred friends I'd love to see that I won't be able to see, but wouldn't it be lovely if I could.

This funeral I am going to is going to bring together a lot of people I dearly love, so despite it's sadness there will be a lot of reunion there too. I am looking forward to seeing friends I haven't seen in years who have moved to other states, friends from all over SoCal and on Sunday friends from our former church congregation. Love all those people and look forward to catching up a bit as we can.
I am sharing a hotel room and car with a dear friend and looking forward to some good chats and down time. Sitting by a pool, dipping the toes and hanging out together sounds quite lovely.

There are definitely some mixed emotions going back "home" to California. We miss it there a lot. California has been a major part of both my and The Man's adult life, so it really is where we feel the most us and the most at home.  Moving has brought many blessings too, so there is always that loss and gain in making a big life change like we did. Had there been a crystal ball before us when we made the decision to move we probably wouldn't have done it based on the way some things didn't work out as we'd hoped. But we would've missed out on all the blessings we gained when we did make that decision. Life is interesting, isn't it.

I was looking back at old family photos from 2008-2012 yesterday morning and The Bug was so little and we looked so young. Wow. Even pictures I didn't like at all back then were so lovely to me now. There were so many photos of beach life and palm trees, major league baseball games, year-round warm temperatures...made me a homesick for California and more grateful for the past. I hope I'm living in the present a little more to realize all the lovely blessings I have right now.

I am looking forward to the quiet time and change of scenery this weekend will provide. I hope you too have some time for quiet, rest and happy enjoyment this weekend! Thanks for coming by today.

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