If I take you home, first and foremost, you are special to me because not just anyone gets let in. I am a very private person and don't let my guard down until you have shown me who you really are.

I will drive around showing you the place I called "home" my entire life, where I grew up, and where all my childhood memories took place. You will probably feel like you have been there before with all the stories I told you for the few months before you finally came home.

I will first take you the house that literally built me, still occupied by my parents and where I lived my entire 20 years. Actually incredible that those four walls are still up after everything that took place inside. My whole life, all I ever knew, was that what was inside those four walls was all I had — my family, my blood.

Once you make it inside my home, I will have already warned you about my dysfunctional family. My sister will probably be hibernating in her room, my brother will be sprawled out on the couch watching some 20-minute long video on volume 100 on his phone, my dad will be laid back in his recliner, watching tv, competing with the volume of my brother's video. But my mom, yeah, she will be the first you see, greeting you at the door, telling you to make yourself at home, and she will probably have you an iced cold Coke already poured.

Be careful though, my mom feels every loss and every victory that I do. So don't hurt me because I won't be the only one that gets hurt and good luck getting forgiveness from her. My dad will probably talk your ear off about politics and religion but bear with him, he gains a lot from that. My sister will sit off to the side and make judgmental comments but she just wants to make sure you have a pure soul. My brother will try and get you to watch his Youtube videos but don't be afraid to say no (lol we all do).

If you stay the night, we will probably have to sleep in different bedrooms, it's out of respect. But you will get to step foot in every room of that house and hear all types of crazy memories made in all of them that made me into the girl I am today.

I will take you by the school and probably boast about my basketball glory days that happened right inside that gymnasium. The game that taught me so much about life and gave me so much strength to endure it. The gym where my teammates became my closest friends and I'll point you to my coach who shaped me into who I am by pushing me to be the best person I could be on and off the court. You won't be impressed by the school size or the number of people, but you will see that the love I have for everything about that school in my voice, eyes, and smile. The building that I was at more than I was at home for 12 years will finally be right in front of you.

I will take you up to the cemetery on the hill and show you my grandpa's grave. The man who worked so hard for our family and gave so much to that little town. It's not just a grave to me, it is a place I visited often after he passed to talk to him and cry alone. He may not have been able to physically answer every doubt, question, or worry I had but I got answers and peace for sure. Don't take this one for granted, this one means a lot to my family.

I will take you down Main Street — the only street in the town. The one I have traveled up and down a couple thousand times with various people. The street I marched down in parades. The street I sped down when I slept in a little too late for school. The street my friends and I went down after school with windows down and music up. The street my grandparents own an ice cream parlor on. And the street my great grandfather had his own barbershop on. So many memories happened there.

Most of all... if I take you home, you should know, my mom gets attached easily and my dad will love you from the moment you tell him who God is. So don't take anything too lightly. My home means the world to me. And if we happen to split off after this, I won't be the only thing broken.

P.S. If I take you home, bring church clothes because we will be going.