You Can’t Go Home Again…
In April 2026 I moved from my first tiny office in Spokane Valley to a beautiful office on 14th and Grand Blvd on Spokane’s South Hill. My new office is located within Northwest Direct Primary Care and is ADA accessible (my primary reason for seeking a new office space). ADA accessibility was key as having it allows me to see clients who utilize Original Medicare – one of my favorite underserved populations.
In many ways this office space is like going home for me. A lifetime ago I went to a physical therapist office directly below my current office. My childhood is filled with memories of places surrounding this office building – the duck pond I fell in as a little one is blocks away, as is the elementary school I attended. I was confirmed at the cathedral just steps from the parking lot. And I held my mother's hand when she died just blocks from my office. So many of my life's transitions were within a half mile of my new office.
The phrase "you can't go home again" suggests that once we leave a place, a relationship, or a season of life, we can never truly return to it. Time changes us. Experiences shape us. The people we love grow, leave, or pass away. Even when the physical places remain, we encounter them as different people than we once were.
As I settled into my new office, I found myself reflecting on this idea. The streets are familiar. The landmarks are familiar. Yet everything feels different because I am different. The little girl who fell into the duck pond could never have imagined becoming a therapist. The woman grieving her mother's death could not fully see the life that still lay ahead of her.
Life transitions often feel this way.
Whether it is getting married, becoming a parent, watching children leave home, retiring, experiencing illness, losing someone you love, or ending a relationship, transitions ask us to let go of what was while learning to embrace what is becoming. They often involve grief and excitement, fear and hope, loss and possibility—all at the same time.
Many of the people I work with come to therapy during these in-between seasons. They know something has changed, but they haven't quite found their footing in the new chapter. Sometimes they are trying desperately to get back to the way things used to be. Other times they are uncertain about what comes next.
The truth is that we cannot go backward. We cannot return to the marriage before children, the body before illness, the family before loss, or the person we were decades ago. But that doesn't mean we are lost.
Instead, therapy can provide a space to honor where you've been, grieve what has changed, and begin creating meaning in the chapter you're living now. It can help you carry forward the lessons, values, and connections that matter most while building a life that fits who you are today.
Every day I walk into an office surrounded by reminders of my own life transitions. They remind me that growth rarely happens without change, and change rarely happens without some measure of loss. They also remind me that new beginnings often emerge from places we never expected.
Perhaps you can't go home again.
But you can create a new home within the life you are living now.
If you are navigating a major life transition and looking for support, Family Ties Therapy provides counseling for individuals and couples throughout Washington and Idaho. Sometimes the most important work isn't finding your way back—it's finding your way forward.