When I went on vacation recently, I decided to go back to Long Island where I grew up. Circumstances forced me to relocate to Texas 21 years ago and ever since then, I had experienced many pangs of homesickness. I was reluctant to go back to visit because of this, so I rarely did.
Last November, I flew back home to attend a wedding and an amazing thing happened…I was glad to go home when the trip was over. This was the first time I’d felt like this since moving away. Now, I wasn’t sure if it was the chaos of the wedding, which was wonderful, or that it was cold and I couldn’t go swimming, so I decided to test a theory and booked a vacation there during the summer.
I wouldn’t be truthful if I said that this vacation was just for pleasure; I did have to do some research for my upcoming novel, Gods of the Bay. But I also wanted to see if I had any hesitation in returning home from this trip. I connected with many old friends and some family members. On the fourth day there, I had a revelation. I could have stayed and remained bitter if I wasn’t able to better my circumstances. I truly believe that leaving helped me to become more successful.
Not only did I accomplish what I set out to do research wise, I learned a powerful lesson in letting go. I have to admit that it was much easier when I saw how much my neighborhood changed, as well as my childhood home. My neighborhood became a haven for summer folk; long gone was our close-knit community. Enough had changed that many things were now foreign to me. It made me grateful for where I am now and I when I boarded the plane bound for Denver, I was happy.