I don't know who took this picture, I certainly didn't. But, it is of a road outside of my hometown.

I grew up off of a road like this. I rode the bus to school on this dusty road. I learned how to drive on a road like this, sitting on my dad's lap in the old GMC pickup, learning to 'stay out of the soft sand or you'll go into the ditch' (which I did once) ...

I miss my 'home' this week. A lot, actually. I miss those old country roads and the slow pace and a simpler time. I miss going home. My aunt lives in my old house now, and although we're always welcome, the house doesn't look or feel the same. You can still see the fingerprints of the time when I lived there. My dad's pickup isn't in the driveway and my brother isn't out back playing in the yard. My mom isn't hanging clothes on the line. It's changed. Everything changes, but I miss that time.

I'm nostaglic this week for all things small town. And I love that I grew up in one, and I love that it's still important to me.

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