"Back Home" is an old factory town that is having a hard time keeping up once several factories closed in recent decades. Houses are often only one room wide, two or three rooms deep, and two stories tall.
It was interesting to hear stories of her growing up. We'd be driving down a street and "Mom" would say something like, "My old friend from school lived there. Their mother raised five kids in that four room house."
We had a great time visiting relatives: grandma, uncles and aunts and cousins. We visited an uncle's hunting bunk house,
where we were given some cool deer antlers. We joined in on card-playing-Sunday night at Grandma's, went to church that Grandma has attended for probably over 40 years, went on a tour of an old closed prison,
Hard to believe this prison was only closed as recently as 1995!
And we hung out at "home" and petted plenty of cats and one sweet dog.
I even crashed a baby shower with Mom. (She didn't crash it, just me. But she invited me and the expectant mother was welcoming and gracious.) I enjoyed meeting lots of Mom's church friends and getting a peak at her active life filled with friends. Moving back home was good for her, though we miss having her next door to us in the woods.
Grandma has a "tortie" cat. I loved the checkerboard pattern of tan and black on her chest. She was a beautiful cat, cute not very affectionate. I had a tortie when growing up. I love the look of these brindle coated cats.
We missed seeing lots of relatives on the other side of the family. Some we couldn't reach and some were out of town. So, that just means we get to go back more often! We do hope and plan to visit more frequently in the coming years.
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