I think that people have an illusion that when you’re away for a while, things change. That you changed, that they changed, that something, anything has changed.
But the truth is, nothing really does. You come home and everything is the same. It’s not a bad thing. It’s actually comforting in a way.
My room was still a mess from when I had originally packed for Barcelona and the snow still covered the streets of Chicago, just as I had left it. I asked, “what’s new?,” and no one really had an answer. The one thing that did change, however, is that my dog got fat. Which, my mother won’t let you say aloud, because she doesn’t want it to affect the dog’s self-esteem.
Everyone I saw over the weekend asked how I was doing, and I didn’t quite know what to say. The usual, “fine,” didn’t seem like the appropriate response.
Because, how do you tell someone that you’re having the time of your life, that every day is a blessing, that you smile more than ever, that you want to run away forever and never look back, and expect them to understand?
And, how do you tell them that you’ve missed them, but not in way that ever made you sad, rather in the way that made you happy to see them again.
I suppose that’s my answer.
So to all of you who asked me how I am doing, I am doing well, and you are a wonderful soul for asking, for listening to me babble about my adventures, for caring about what I have to say and for following along on my blog. I am blessed by the dream I am living in, and by the reality of those people waiting back home.
