When true friends reunite, it is as if no time has passed at all

Kids are taller, hairstyles are different and teeth are missing in a couple of mouths, all of which continues to catch me off guard.

There is a new traffic light downtown which I’m sure is very helpful in controlling the flow of traffic, but seems right now only to render me completely confused as to which lane I’m supposed to be in at any given moment.

I’ve slowed to a near stop more times than I can count to gawk at houses that have changed colors or grown new additions in my absence, not to mention the ones that have been razed or those that now sport For Sale signs on the front lawn.

New stores display appealing new wares in their windows, new restaurants entice me to mosey in for a quick sample, and even in those familiar downtown haunts that remain the same, the faces behind the counters aren’t always the ones that greeted me half a year ago.

As much as things remain the same here in my hometown, plenty has changed as well. The passage of time is reflected in all of the faces and the places that I love, reminding me that just as I have changed and evolved while I’ve been in London, life here has gone on, too.

And yet...?

And yet my Target number; that magic total that pops up on the register every. single. time. I walk into that store, regardless of whether I’ve come in for a box of band aids or a full-out shopping spree? It remains the same almost to the penny.

Aint no doubt about it. Target's clearly kept the porch light burning in anticipation of my return.