Jimbo's Jots

We’re going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship,

Zooming through the sky… Little Einsteins

Climb aboard, get ready to explore

There’s so much to find, Little Einsteins.

Now I’ve got you singing the song, especially if you were a parent to a toddler from 2005-2009. The lyrics are the theme song to the Disney Jr. show, Little Einsteins. It was a show that mixed music, art and fantasy as a quartet of four used their talents along with the help of their rocket ship to solve problems.

Recently, I have gone on some trips . . . not in my favorite rocket ship. Once to Tennessee, which I talked about a few weeks ago. If you remember, I was taken back to memories of families dating back to my childhood and early memories of church life.

The latest trip took me back to my home town in central Illinois. The purpose of the trip was to take care of deposit box matters with my parents’ bank. Apparently, nothing had been done with the account since 2001. So, I drove to Illinois to take care of business.

Leaving for this trip, I had left early enough in the day to arrive in town by mid-afternoon. I took the opportunity “climb aboard” and “ready to explore” the town that I grew up in. Driving by my old schools and the park down the road from my old house. I stopped by the property of the old homestead. It no longer stands since a fire destroyed it a couple of years ago. The “barn” garage that dad had built was still standing. I walked around the property and looked in the garage. It had stuff in it – may have recognized a lamp that was in there. I stopped by some of our favorite in town food places to purchase and pack to bring back to Michigan. I got to meet up with my niece and her family and my nephew and his family for a meal.

Then, the next morning, I drove to the bank. The whole process of opening and getting the stuff out, closing the box took 10 minutes. I was in and out.

As I left the bank and started to make my way back home to Michigan, I experienced a little sense of sadness. It kind of came out of the blue. The flood of memories of growing up in this town, church connections, driving the back roads in the country to get to various places began to pour over me. Then, in my mind, seeing my parents’ faces and hearing their voices pushed their way to the front of my memories. There was a real sense of closure to life in this little town.

But my sadness quickly transitioned to happiness. I was excited for the life that I had growing up. I celebrated the memories of walking down the hallways of my elementary school, junior high school and high school. The first bites of the homegrown delicacies that I came back with were a celebration of family “cleaning the house” projects. While the house isn’t there, the memories of growing up there still play out.

There was so much to find on my little trip! I’m thankful for the chance to explore. May you find opportunities to take a trip in your favorite rocket ship!

Be blessed! Be a blessing!