Going Back to Go Forward

In church a few weeks ago, the pastor told us we need to go back in order to go forward.

Well, wanting to be on a forward track here, I took his advice to heart.

Usually, when I travel through Iowa, I buzz on through as fast as possible while still avoiding speeding tickets.  It's a long corn and soybean filled drive; a thing to be endured to get from Kansas City to Minneapolis, where I grew up and still have family.

This time, I'm stopping along the way to go back.  Much of my mother's family lives in Iowa.  I've lost touch with them over the years, and decided that if I wait another 20-30 years to try to get in touch, it'll be too late.  (you think?)

So, I looked up a cousin of mine on Facebook (who now lives in Slater), called her up, and invited myself to spend the night last night.  We hadn't really talked in twenty years - it's amazing the perspective a few decades can bring to a relationship.  We had a wonderful time catching up and comparing notes on what it was like for each of us to grow up in the middle of a puppy pile of kids.  I am so glad I stopped.

Today, I drove on up to Waterloo to spend a few days with my brother and his family.  (Them, I've talked to - it's the extended family that fell by the wayside along the way.)  Thursday, I'll visit my aunt and uncle in Decorah before landing in MN to see my grandbaby sometime on Friday.

I know I'm a bit slow at times, and I'm having trouble convincing me I'm really on the road.  I still feel like I'm just off for a week and a bit - like it's been for the last umpteen years.  I don't think the light bulb will go on until I get off the beaten track and head north from Minneapolis to Wisconsin and parts unknown to me.  We'll see...