epiphany

[note: this was meant to be posted August 14]

I don't know what happened, but our director somehow woke up this morning and got it. He seemed to actually understand where we were coming from. And so today was a productive day of working toward a common goal. Wonderful!

I also came to an epiphany during all this talk of leaving this foreign place and going back to the States. I keep thinking of it as going home, and in many ways it will be. But it won't be like I remember it.

Since I have been gone, Home has changed. It has gone through 9/11, three presidential terms, the birth of Facebook, and the death of the housing market. People have changed because of this, societies have changed.

And I have changed. Twelve years in another country have left a permanent mark on who I am, how I think.

Accordingly, I know that adjusting to life back in the US will not be without its bumps and shocks. Some things will feel blessedly familiar and comfortable, but gradually the differences will start to make themselves felt. How will I respond when I realize I don't quite fit like I used to? When I have trouble making sense of things? When I have to come to grips with the fact that home is more a mirage than a reality?

I don't know.