NATICK, MA
DECEMBER VISIT HOME
It’s that time of year again. December is the time I make the pilgrimage to my hometown to visit my mother. She waits for her children to show up during the holiday and we all oblige. My older brother had already put a beautiful arrangement in front of her grave so I was thankful he still carries enough guilt to save me a trip to the florist.
I suggested the trip to my youngest brother and made it sound like so much fun that he jumped in the car without thinking and off we went. I should mention a Zen moment. A hawk was sitting on my car in my driveway and flew to the fence when we got closer to it. I’ve always associated a hawk with my deceased father so it seemed like an appropriate time for the hawk to show up right before we were heading to where it all began.
One of the stops on my list of things to do in Natick was to go by the falls and take a photo. I had heard from someone somewhere out there that they were getting rid of the falls but I have no idea how that’s possible or if it’s even really happening. I’m just glad I have the photo so that when I die my family can sell my computer at an estate sale and someone from the Cape will buy it and wipe out every photo, including the last known picture of South Natick falls.
Our first stop was naturally Casey’s Diner. You really can’t visit Natick without getting a few all arounds. Seriously the best hot dogs this side of the planet. I know people have been saying the hot dogs have changed over the years (me included) but today they were the hot dogs I remembered from my past. I ate three of them and I’m only telling you that to win your respect for being honest.
I failed to get a photo of Casey's so I stole one from the internet. Photo credit goes to the Natick Report.
Lookout Farm was another stop but not because I have many memories of it growing up. We never really went there much when we were younger and I don't know a lot about it but as an adult I love it and their red barn is always a reason for me to stop. The last time I was there a hawk was sitting at the top of the barn and I had hoped to see it again but it didn’t happen. How many hawks should I be allowed to see in one day anyway?
We made our rounds at the cemetery (we have about a dozen people we visit) and if you know my brother at all you’ll know that I did all the talking to the dead. It’s exhausting and I could have used his help but I do admire his patience and lack of interruption.
We took some time to drive by the old homestead. We lived next to the entrance to Kennedy Middle School and Brown Elementary School on Mill Street. The middle school is brand new and amazing but I immediately missed the old dumpy one I went to. At the risk of sounding like an old lady who can't keep up with the times…the original school worked fine for me. Why they gotta go and do all that?
Photo credit to the project management company at Compass Project Management
Side note: Now that the middle school has expanded, my brother and I thought they physically moved the entire elementary school closer but it’s just an optical illusion. Although we’re still not sure.
Side note #2: My brother made the astonishing announcement that he would move back to Natick if he could and it just made me sad that people don’t live where they want to because life gets in the way.
I ended the day back on the Cape and it was a yellow-purple-pink-blue kind of a sunset but the clouds were not letting the sun take center stage. And that was perfectly fine.
I read a line today in The Untethered Soul that said..."the sun doesn't shine differently on different people." I wanted to share that this holiday season as I know people can get depressed, and although I have many moments of melancholy while I'm in Natick, I never waver from knowing that I'm not alone and that we are all, equally, in this thing called life together.
Natick has my memories. Cape Cod has my soul.
Happy Holidays!
