Scared about moving back to home state

My husband, myself and our two small children are getting ready to move back to my hometown in SoCal this spring. We have been living out of state for almost 6 years. Both of our children were born in Texas and as expected we have gone through a lot of different things in our life here. Typical up and downs of life, so many things that have changed the people we are in certain ways. I am really looking forward to being around all of my family and friends again, so is my husband. We know we are going to be facing many changes and challenges with our move but there is only one aspect that really scares me. My fears are that the friends I have had for so long wont connect with me as we did before. We have all grown so much in last 6 years that I fear we have changed too much, that essentially we will be starting over again. Same goes for my family, we have been gone for so long. Not included in the typical family get togethers. We haven't even been home for a holiday since our initial move. It may seem irrational and silly to have these feelings/fears, but they honestly worry me. I hope to be able to go home and pick up where we left off with our friends and family. I know that wont happen, exactly, but as close to it as possible. My question is, has anyone gone through something similar? Perhaps you may have some experiences you can share. Any and all advice would helpful. Thanks in advance.

You need to look at the fact that you guys have 'survived' together 6 years away from your family and friends and therefore you are seasoned to expect the unexpected and deal with the unexpected together. Your family shouldn't be an issue particularly when your children were born out of state and if your friends are true friends, then there's nothing really to worry about either because true friends remain loyal to you even if they haven't seen or heard from you for a period of time. It's not so much about having to return and pick up where you left off, it's about using the unity and the strength of your relationship together to make yourselves a more fulfilling and comfortable life at 'home'.