You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right. -Maya Angelou

I can't believe it had been 6 months since I had been in the Lone Star state! I was seriously craving Mexican food and time with my family and friends--and maybe in that order :) --and it was time for my 10 year high school reunion. All good reasons to come home.

Let me just start off by saying I have the BEST family and friends. I'm sure you think that yours are the best, but you are wrong. It's always interesting when I come home to visit because I am car-less. I don't miss my car at all in Boston, but I feel like such a burden to everyone when I get to Texas. But everyone carts me around without complaint--at least to my face.

It started off with a very long day of traveling. I like to think of myself as a laid-back traveler. Flight delayed? No worries I'll get there when I get there. Missed a connecting flight? Just book me on the next flight. Lost my luggage? Deliver it when you find it. But all three of these things and spending over 8 hrs traveling? That forced a fake smile and the bags under my eyes.

Fortunately, my smiling brothers were there to pick me up.



Bobby drove me to Abilene and we stopped for a late lunch at Mary's Cafe in Strawn, TX. My parents always eat here and I finally got to try it out. I love hole-in-the-wall restaurants and you know the food is going to be good when the sign for the restaurant is hand-painted and your waitress is wearing jorts.



We made it to Abilene in time to stop by the Abilene airport and pick up my luggage they had located and shipped on a flight. Except that my luggage wasn't there and wouldn't show up until 9:30 that night. Lucky for me Sarah Beth lives in Abilene and I actually ended up borrowing a dress that was much cuter than mine!

Off to the reunion at Perini's, which reminded me of the million high school graduation parties we had there. Allow me to go off on my Abilene tangent for a moment... I loved high school. Loved growing up in a semi small town. Loved that we knew not just everyone in our class, but everyone in our high school. And I loved that so many from our class wanted to go to our reunion. Abilene to anyone else will seem boring and uneventful, but if you're from Abilene you feel the same way as me. :)

Diggs, me, Kendel, Erin



Diggs, Kelly (one of my first friends at Wylie), me



Roxanne (one of my best friends from hs), me



Wylie High School, Class of 1998



And for those of you that didn't go to our high school I won't bore you with any more pictures. For those of you that did, you can view the slide show here.

My mom saved this article for me from a magazine (probably from the September 1995 Redbook, right Mom?) :) and the quote at the heading of this blog was listed. It was a great article about how your home (town, people, restaurants, even new neighborhoods) changes and evolves into something different from what you grew up with. But the heart of your home will never change. Love that.

More to come on my trips to Abilene and Dallas...