You know that saying, "You can't go home again?" I never truly knew what it meant until I moved away from home. More than 20 years ago, I uprooted my life in New England and drove cross-country with some friends to California. The allure of Hollywood was calling to us, and so we went. To this day, it was the bravest thing I had ever done, especially since none of us had a plan. But we made it work.
Sometime after I was settled into my new life in Los Angeles, I went home to visit for the first time. It felt different, not because things had changed that drastically but because I had changed. New England didn't feel as much like home anymore because my home was now on the West Coast. Now that more than two decades have passed since I left, things have changed so much, not just with me but with my hometown, my family, and the places I visited throughout my childhood.
Each time I return to the Northeast, I look at every place with fresh eyes, even places I have visited 100 times before. While nostalgic about my childhood days, I now have a new perspective whenever I go home.
You may be wondering where I grew up. Well, I was born in New Hampshire, and my parents, younger sister, and I moved to Rhode Island when I was six. Growing up, we would take day trips all over southern New England, including places like Mystic, Boston, Worcester, Western Mass, Rockport, Gloucester, and Cape Cod.
Of course, we also spent plenty of time exploring Rhode Island, often taking day trips to South County or Newport with stops at Allie's Donuts along the way. We also spent plenty of time in Providence, especially when my sister and I went to high school in the city. After school, you could find us on Thayer Street grabbing a bite to eat, browsing the shops, and hanging out like teens do. When I visited Thayer Street since moving, it was virtually unrecognizable from what I knew way back when. Businesses I once frequented have now been taken over by a chain or designer store, and restaurants I loved are no longer there. But change is certainly inevitable, isn't it?
Even my two favorite Rhode Island farms, Wright's Dairy Farm and Jaswell's Farm, have seen drastic changes over the years. From small farm stands, each has seen incredible expansion that includes store renovations, a more diversified inventory of goods, and even agritourism attractions. It's been wonderful to see how these businesses have grown and thrived while other long-standing businesses, like the beloved RI chain Benny's (RIP), have shuttered their doors for good.
All the changes I have seen over the years when I go back and visit also allow new opportunities to explore. There always seem to be new restaurants, shops, and attractions to try. I have even explored parts of my home state I never have before. For example, in the past few years, my mom has booked a stay at the Ocean House in Watch Hill for my sister and her kids as well as my kids and me. Having never ventured to this part of the state in the past, I feel like a tourist as I head into town, chat with local shopkeepers, and walk along the shore. It's a wonderful feeling to be somewhere different, and Watch Hill is an incredibly charming small town that brings a sense of peace to my life.
And then there's Cape Cod. This is where I spent many summer vacations growing up, and now my dad lives here. Decades ago, the sand dunes along the Cape Cod National Seashore were much more dramatic than they are today as erosion has taken its toll. Sea levels have also risen, so the beaches aren't as wide as they once were. While Cape Cod is still incredibly gorgeous, I find these changes quite sad.
The Northeast will always have a special place in my heart, no matter how much it has changed over the years. So, can you go home? You sure can, but expect it to be different because the only thing constant in this life is change. However, you can take the changes as an opportunity to explore with fresh eyes as if you're a tourist visiting a place for the first time, even if it's your hometown.
Where are my roots now? Well, they are planted in Arizona along with all the different places I've lived around the U.S. From the northeast to the west coast, from the mid-Atlantic to the south and the southwest, home is wherever any of us make it. Where are your roots planted? Do you ever visit the town you grew up in and notice how much it has changed, or maybe it's you who changed?
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