This was such a personal trip – I had not been back to Dallas (my hometown) in over a decade. Instead of visiting important landmarks or museums, my destination had childhood routes. With my own roadmap, my husband and I circled up to the Oklahoma border and back, visiting locations significant to when I was a little girl. Many of the pictures I took were just for my own personal archive, but I would like to share a precious few.

An Old Piano Studio – Whitesboro, TX

On main street, my eyes searched for the building where my parents’ music studio once stood. I do not quite know how to explain the feeling of what it was like to be looking for something my eyes had not seen since I was a child. Before I knew it though, the red brick building was in front of me. To my excitement, it had been turned into a diner.

We went inside, and as I ate the most delicious short ribs, I could not help but look along the walls, still painted white, and feeling the incredible passage of time. Before leaving, I asked Peter to take my picture up in the window. I used to sit near there, reading library books, and watching people walk by with a wondering of what was happening in their own lives.

Oklahoma Border

Being so close to the Oklahoma boarder (a 20 minute drive from Whitesboro), we crossed over the Red River into a world of brown wispy grass and open sky. As a little girl, I had been across the river many times, but never in the fall. Given it was October, I was fascinated by how wind-kissed and dead everything looked. Even in such a dormant state, it was really beautiful. I could almost feel the land saying, in a strong accent, “Many a tornado done crossed these parts before. Get outta here before one crosses again.”

My Childhood Home – McKinney, TX

I know they say to not go look at the house you were born in, but I still visited, and do not regret it. After seeing it, this is what I wrote:

“My dear little house on the prairie, it has been too long. I have been so far away for so many years, and I am sorry I could not come back. Like me, so many things have changed. Your red brick was painted white, flowers and bushes torn up, and trees throughout the lawn have grown tall. A new family loves you. I even heard the sound of a happy puppy.

“Although the flowers have gone, children run through the open space behind the house, and there are plenty of trees with more branches to climb than what I even had as a small girl. I am so glad someone gets to love you. I am even more grateful someone gets to create their own memories with you. I cherish mine, I don’t forget, and I thank God for what it was because it was home.”