09/05/2026
My Hometown ❤️
Last night Tim and I headed back to our hometown for an event they have every year.
And before I tell you about the cars, the people, and what this little town has become… I need to tell you something that hit me hard last night.
For the first time in YEARS, I was able to walk Main Street.
Not with a walker.
Not in a wheelchair.
Not stopping every few feet because my hips felt like they were splintered and broken.
Just… walking.
My orthopedic doctor gave me a whole new life when he gave me brand-new titanium hips. And unless you’ve lived through something like that, it’s hard to explain just how deeply something like that can affect a person’s soul.
It was HOT last night. 😂 Sweat was rolling, and I didn’t give a damn. I was WALKING. And I was happy.
Because I remembered the last time I tried to walk Main Street.
I needed a walker.
Before that, I needed a wheelchair.
I couldn’t even make it from my old house to the Murphy store. I couldn’t walk the few blocks farther to my Dad’s house to visit him.
That loss of mobility was detrimental to my life. It was sad. It was painful. And honestly, it was a very dark place for me.
But last night?
I walked those streets.
And somewhere along the way, I smiled to myself… and my step got a little quicker.
Look how far I’ve come.
Just a few years ago, I couldn’t do this.
Last night, I walked through my hometown, sweat rolling down my face, surrounded by people, music, old cars and all the familiar streets of my childhood.
And I realized just how much life I’ve gotten back.
⸻
I remember when the car show first started in our little town. Pat Thompson and his family pulled it together back then, and I remember old cars lining up right in front of my house on Main Street.
It brought people from all over together, and it was something really special for our community.
Over the years—especially since I’ve moved away from Warsaw—I’ve watched this little town change.
A new generation has stepped up and taken hold of their community. New businesses have opened on Main Street. Lights are shining in buildings that sat dark for years.
And my hometown-girl heart?
It was SO happy to see it. ❤️
There’s something really special about watching a place that means so much to you come alive again.
And maybe that’s why last night felt like more than just a car show.
I wasn’t just walking through my hometown.
I was walking through a piece of my own history… as a completely different woman.
And if somewhere along my timeline I hurt your feelings, disappointed you, or made choices you didn’t understand—please understand this:
I had to give myself the same grace I’m asking you to give me now.
I had to fight my way out of a very dark place.
And I will never apologize for doing what I needed to do to find my way back to myself. ❤️
Part 2 coming soon…
