Country road, take me home

I spent the day visiting family in the town I couldn't wait to get away from when I was 17.
I even moved 900 miles away the month before my 18th birthday and it still didn't seem far enough.
I couldn't appreciate that little farm town for what it really was: Home.

My poor husband injured his back (Maude only knows how, probably picking up our toddler who insists she is a real, true Princess of the highest esteem)  and has been laid up for over a week now and to be honest, I'm going stir-crazy. Which is a different kind of crazy than my usual sort.

With nothing else to do, I decided to take the 40 minute trek from Rancho Cordova to my hometown of Woodland, CA to visit my family.

It was a beautiful, sunny day.

We spent some time visiting the lamb my niece is raising through her 4H club and my youngest learned that she only likes farm animals from afar, hahaha.

Most of the day was filled with family that we don't see often enough but at the end of our visit, I decided to take a little nostalgic drive around town.
I showed my oldest the house that his dad grew up in, and the park where I got in WAY too much trouble as a teen.
We drove by my first apartment and the first house my husband & I rented together.
 There is the grocery store that my aunt & uncle own, and that I've worked in at different points in my life (and so has my brother and my Dad).
The TV/Video place my step-dad owns, and the credit union that my Great-aunt helped start.
The Rice Mill where half of my family worked & are retired from.
The many hours that were spent running around Dubach field while my Grandpa played softball in the Senior league.

The gorgeous Historic District that I've yet to see matched by any of the towns I've visited in any of the 8 other states I've traveled to.

It's always been there, but when I was young and had itchy feet, I just couldn't make myself see it.
Some people search their entire lives for something that I didn't know I had all along.
Home means different things to different people but to me home is family, and memories, and a feeling of belonging. I was once rooted to Woodland, CA and someday I hope the winds carry me back for good.