Homeward Bound

On January 4th, five months after we left home, we returned to Evanston. Just like that, our grand adventure came to a close. 

I don’t think I’ll really understand the impact of this journey for a long time. I already see it in little ways, particularly in the way the kids note little differences in the world, like how Norah’s first impression of the Florida suburbs (where we stopped with friends to celebrate the New Year on the way home) was that “everything looks the same here.” Or, the way that Ben said, incredulously, when I handed him a drink at Starbucks, “I wanted the small!” To which I replied, “Here, this is a small.”

A goal of this trip was to come together as a family, and on this I can say “mission accomplished.” We have never been closer. We have never understood one another as well as we do now. We are all excited to have a little more space, a little more privacy, and a few more social outlets. 

I am confident that the number of private jokes we have accumulated from these adventures are only starting to emerge and will be the source of laughter for years to come. While Norah and Ben have grown up with a huge and loving family network that has given them tons of stimulation and attention, I believe that the kids have thrived having more dedicated time just with us, their mom and dad. And, Ben and Norah, stuck together for better or worse, have grown incredibly close to one another in a way that I, as an only child, certainly never experienced. 

I am hopeful that many of the places we visited with stick with Norah and Ben and that their memories of these months will be rich and multidimensional. I think they will remember all of the friends they made along the way and a sense like you can make community anywhere. I hope it sparks in them a sense that the world is full of places to discover, but that you can find commonalities with people anywhere you go. 

I think Norah comes home worldly and more sophisticated. My euro-chic girl who now wears Doc Martens and drinks lattes. I hope these experiences help ground her and are an inkling of identity as she evolves through puberty and her inevitable tween years. 

Ben comes home with his eyes opened to the wonders of the world. He has just enough of that little kid sparkle that makes him so endearing, but big thoughts and big kid ideas that are giving us an indication of the kind of kid he is growing up to be. 

As for me, I probably could have kept right on living abroad. There is a lot about the way Europeans see the world – and their place in the world – that makes sense to me. It is much more of a shared mentality, a sense that we are in this together that I don’t feel at home. 

At the same time, I will admit that it’s really nice to be back in my home culture. I appreciate ordering food in a restaurant and actually receiving what I intended to get. I appreciate not worrying about whether I can make myself understood in a conversation. And, I do not miss the 3+ hours each day I spent commuting the kids to school and back. 

Thanks so much for reading along with us! To date, we’ve had more than 600 friends and family members following along. Although, mostly I just imagine writing this all to the grandparents, I so enjoy when friends pop up to comment and share stories of their own. This, too, contributed to making these past five months – eleven countries – and countless adventures – unforgettable.