Nostalgia

 

In 2009, all three of our children were in college and Mark and I became empty nesters. We decided the best course of action at the time was to abandon the nest. I was 47 and he was 49. We left Tennessee and bought half a row house in downtown Washington, DC, where we lived until the end of 2016, when Mark retired. We’ve often referred to those years as “the greatest years”. That’s not to say that the two decades we spent in the rural south raising a family weren’t great years….they were. But there was something magical about being a couple again, once the kids were on their own, and reinventing ourselves in a new place. We made some amazing memories. We haven’t been back to DC in eight years. We always hesitated to return knowing that as time goes by places and things change but mostly you change. We didn’t want to alter or diminish the memories we made there so many years ago. 

But today we are camping outside the metro area, at Pohick Bay Regional Park, and decided to revisit our old neighborhood.  We found some pleasant surprises. The home we loved is being well cared for by its new residents. We got to visit with our former next door neighbor, Paul, and caught up on life and neighborhood gossip. We had coffee in the courtyard at the El Dorado where best friend Mary lives. We sent virtual love (from her doorstep to St. Louis) because she happens to be traveling at the moment like we are. We hiked in Rock Creek Park where I used to go daily with my dogs. We reminisced about all the weekend bike rides with friends from the “meet up” spot at Pierce Mill. Webster’s dictionary defines nostalgia as a sentimental or wistful yearning for the happiness felt in a former time, place or situation. Today we embraced nostalgia!