Over the last couple years I have felt a “nudge” to return home. A sense of wanting to leave Indiana for my roots of western Pennsylvania. Even at age 70, I don’t feel like my work on earth is done. I believe I have more to give. Most of my family lives in Western Pennsylvania. I treasure them and enjoy their company. I still have many very good friends there. Over the past couple years, I have casually looked for houses and never found anything that really interested me… until a few months ago when one of my dear friends called to tell me a house was going to be for sale in their neighborhood. I went and looked at it and was pleasantly surprised to see that it checked every box and met all of the wants I had in a home. So.. long story, short, I bought the house.  

Then, reality set in. I needed to go through the house that my late wife and I had shared for the last 19 years. Time to go through every closet, cupboard  and drawer and decide what goes and what gets left behind. I’ve sorted through so many things that conjured up all kind of good and bad memories of the time in our home.  And then came the responsibility of calling the important people in my life and telling them of this decision. For the most part, they  have been supportive. They all understand a person‘s desire to go home. I have shared numerous cups of coffee, lunches, a lot of conversation, laughter, and tears with people that are very near and dear to me. Make no mistake, major change is hard. If you’re reading this article, you’ve gone through the hardest change a man can ever go through. Seasons of life change. Relationships change.  We need to do what we need to do to take care of ourselves. That’s not always taking the easy road.  

I had one person ask how I could leave her memories. Rest assured, those never get left behind. Memories are more than mementos.  I reminded them that memories are portable. We carry our memories in our heart. They go where we go. They travel where we travel. They live where we live. The place they occupy in our heart is eternal.  

I don’t know if any of you are faced with making big changes like this right now. If you are, I would advise you to think it through. Don’t  rush If that nudge sticks with you, listen to it. That nudge is your personal truth speaking to you. If you need an ear, reach out, I’ll be glad to share war stories with you.  So…who knows…maybe you can go “home again” … Blessings brothers as we enter this holiday season.