Changing Addresses and Restless Energy

I’ve lived in several states in the U.S. I know people who have spent their entire lives in the same town they were born in. I have never even lived in the town that I was born in. I was just there to be born.

My dad had restless energy. I guess he was looking for his place in life and it took him some time and miles to find that place. He lived on the west coast and the east coast but mostly in the Midwest. In his later years he must have found what he was looking for because he lived in the same place for over twenty years.

My sister inherited his restless energy but she still has not found that spot she is looking for. I did not even put her current addresses in my address book because her address changed so often. Once she lived in the same town for six years  and lived at five different addresses in that five years. Normally she switches towns, not just addresses within the same town. Then, at last, she bought a house in a town where she had lived for six whole years already and I thought she had finally settled down.  I finally added her in my address book, thinking this is permanent for her. Within two years she moved into another house in that same town. Since then she had lived in 4 different towns and had six more addresses. She has been at the same address for almost 4 years now so I am curious to see how long before her restless feet send her out searching again or whether this will be the place she was looking for.

Me, I don’t have the restless energy. I like familiarity. I like knowing people. Whenever you move all the people you know get left behind. You think you’ll stay in touch and social media helps us stay semi-current but it just isn’t the same.  My family is scattered all across the country now. There’s nothing left back at the home front. I guess time changes everything, even the nucleus of the family.