Going Home

After a month and a half on the road it was nice to head down to my parents house and hang with my Dad and their Dog  for a few days. Mother was in Greece this week with my oldest Brother. I got to do a super deep clean as well as upgrade my bed to which I am VERY happy about.  For the most part this week was all about a vacation for Joy to play with Aldo, my parents dog, and run free. She did not want to leave. Though you have to love the quirky things in central Illinois, whether the heart shaped biscuit at Hardees (Carl's Jr) or the "Nude Beach" at Sheets Creek one of my favorite new restaurants there is a real sense of making the most of what life gives. It is something that you see a lot in farm based communities, the realization that you're not always in control and you need to make the most of what you have.

On Friday, on my way in to Chicago for the weekend, I needed to use a dump station and with a free one on Downers Grove, not too far from where I grew up, I thought it would be fun to see what has changed since I was last in Naperville. I drove by my old high school , It was fun seeing the seniors practicing for graduation on the football field, one of those ageless traditions that made graduation fun, especially since when I was in high school you’d get in more trouble for stepping foot on the football field then you would if you skipped school.

From there I made my way over to Knox Presbyterian Church, where I grew up. It really had changed a lot. With a new sanctuary, and the ginormous gymnasium that was completed just before I got into High School had been changed to be more of a gathering place which makes sense as many church leagues that had been so popular had died out over the past decades. It was fun reminiscing with the Facilities Director there about the spaces and what they were and what they are now. It was also great to know that they are still part of the PCUSA, I did worry about that.

I figured that it would also be fund to stop by our old house in Lisle, but on the way I had to laugh as I drove through MY stoplight at the cross streets of Naper and Cullpepper. I had to jump out and get a picture thinking about how many people question why there was a light at that corner. Well, the story is pretty simple, I was biking to Jr. High on the sidewalk, something I don’t do anymore, and got hit by a teen on his way to school.  My accident was the last of a few that happened at that intersection, but became a rallying point for the community to demand a light there before someone actually got killed, so It may not have been all me, but I had a part and the legacy is there.

It is always strange seeing your home that you haven’t for years. It looked so small compared to what I remembered. It also looked wired without the van at the end of the driveway that was always there when my mother was home. 

The strange and probably sad thing about growing up suburban was that nobody I know lives there anymore, To me Naperville is a place that was, it was a place of memories and not a place where I have relationships anymore. But I also realize that those memories are a big part of who I am and the relationships I had while there helped craft me into the person I am today.

After hitting the dump station I went to a place my dad and I would often frequent when my mother was away. Home Run Inn Pizzeria, yes the same as the ones you can get at a grocery store, but the fresh is so much better and the memories were good. Home Run Inn Pizza and the Old Country Buffet that used to be across the street were places my Dad and I would go to every few weeks when I was in High School. When we were there nothing was more important then that moment and it was a special sacred to to just be together and laugh and talk and just be.

Tonight I am off to Chicago where the plan is to stay in the RV Parking Lot at McCormick Center, we’ll see how that goes!