I have to admit all weekend long I was a little stressed about my trip back to my hometown yesterday. On Saturday and Sunday I went to the park with my grand kids, worked in the garden, bought a patio umbrella and cut some pieces of wood to repair the trim around my shed. Monday morning I had to take a trip to North Bergen and Guttenberg the places where I grew up. I was truly looking forward to going back home. What was stressing me out was the 90 minute drive each way. I'm just not used to it anymore. The reason for my trip was to begin the process of claiming some funds that belonged to my dad. He passed away in 1991 and no one knew he had a small bank account. So it was back to Hudson County to re-start the process of settling his estate. My parents were divorced. All through my childhood both lived paycheck to paycheck. Most of the kids in my neighborhood were in the same boat. But we were loved and grew up in a solid working class neighborhood. There was a beautiful park named after "Cinderella Man" James Braddock. Who lived most of his life a block away from the park. We could also walk down to Boulevard East for beautiful views of New York City. I also stopped to visit my grandparent's grave. They literally came here from eastern Europe with nothing after World War I. They worked long hours for low wages in North Bergen's embroidery factories all their lives. I was their only grandson. I hope one day my kids and grand kids will appreciate what they went through. The older I get the more I appreciate them. So the start of the process of claiming my dad's money was successful. It will take months. More importantly, my trip back home brought back fond memories of the people who loved me. Today I'm where I am because they loved me. I'm also grateful that I moved here to Sussex County to raise my family. It's beautiful here too. I have no tolerance for traffic, crowds, chaos and parallel parking anymore!