It's the same place, but it isn't.
The roads all run the same directions that they always have, but driving down them almost feels like driving through a foreign area for the first time.
The faces look at me the same, but the way I look at them is much different than before.
In the three weeks I've been away from the place that I called home for almost 27 years, I've briefly visited there about twice a week. Each time I go back, a slow but steady progression towards this place not feeling like home sinks in.
Don't get me wrong, it has nothing to do with the people or pets that live there. They couldn't be any better of a family than one could ask for. I think this feeling has more to do with my new place feeling like an actual home.
With a nice living room set-up (about to get a step closer to complete with the rest of the furniture being delivered on Saturday), a nice comfy bed that me and the lady share (oh, and the cats share as well), and more and more things to call my own (like the beautiful grill), I think having a place of my own as well as owning some particular items for the first time is making me feel more independent. As a result, I feel like this place is home now, not the place in Oak Forest.
I admit, it's weird to go back home and see that my old room is already occupied by my sister, who had the room repainted and also adjusted the bed to a different spot of the room. This overhaul of life back at my old home is making me realize that I am happy with my new home.
It is weird seeing the faces of my family and realizing that I am just a visitor in their home. It doesn't change my love of them, but I can't help it for saying that it does change the way I view my relationship with them. Now more than ever, I view my moving out as a chance to have a new relationship with them, one where I talk to them on the phone or share talks with them online (except for my dad - I'd love to see him telling me all about his metal detecting adventures while talking on Facebook).
I look forward to this new relationship with them and the place I used to call home. I also look forward to having them as regular visitors in our home.
