You Can Never Go Home Again or Can You?

Although we have been back in China for less than a month, we also have less than a month in China before we return to the US . After that we are planning to return to China for another year at the end of August. Thinking about all that there is to do in the next few weeks to get ready to go home, reminded me of the saying "You can never go home again". What does that really mean? Most of us think, "of course you can go home again", but can one really? Obviously, one can go back to the house of their parents, and in a sense, that is going home. However, what makes a house a home is not the collections of bricks, sticks, mortar, and tile. It is the people and the memories. Memories are in the past, and people are transient, both physically and emotionally. Therefore, the idealistic memories that we have can never be recaptured, and we ourselves and the people we remember have all changed. The home of our mind is gone forever. I know that that is a rather bleak assessment of things, but it does not have to be. Let me give you an example. Have you ever watched an episode of one of your favorite TV shows from years ago? How often does the show in actuality live up to the memory? Often time distorts the true nature of things. It causes us to forget about the bad acting, weak script, or lame special effect i.e. "The Greatest American Hero". Now, that show will always hold a special place in my heart, but I would not want modern shows to look just like it. Instead, I can appreciate it for what it was, and yet still recognize the merit of some of my new favorite shows. Time can also have a different effect though. It helps one to see things from a different perspective. The fact that we are transient can be beneficial. As we grow older, we are constantly adjusting to the circumstances of life. Everyday, all of us are refined, shapened, and molded little by little. I remember when Star Trek the Next Generation premiered, many didn't like it because it was not the Original series. Becuase of advances in special effects and more sophisticated writing, the franchise was helped. In fact, I think it was improved. Kirk and the Crew were great, but the Next Gen was more polished. The effects of time are not always bad. So it is with us, just because we can't return to the home of our mind, doesn't mean we can't return to a home. When I think of how supportive our friends and families have been, always with kind words of encouragement, always anticipating our return, I think that although the home we left no longer exist, the one to which we return to will be even more special. It will be new, better, and even more polished than it was before. So in a since we will not be going home again, we will be going home for the first time. Again. - Frank

Human beings are the only creatures that allow their children to come back home - Bill Cosby