As I walked Rudy on this beautiful autumn morning, I felt the leaves crunch under my feet. I smelled that comfortingly familiar scent of burning leaves in the air. I heard the leaves rustle in the trees and watched them swiftly taken around in the breeze. I sat on a bench, looked around at the quiet world on fire around me and said to myself, "I wish I could go home." It wasn't a melancholy statement, nor was it a plea to escape my life. No, it was a deeper longing, an innate pull from my heart. Perhaps now more than ever, I'm recognizing a similar pattern of longing among those around me. Those in their 30's and 40's are out of their parents' homes, living independently with families … [Read more...]