Limitless World: An Instance of Returning Home

There's a lot of information, articles, and blog entries about reverse culture shock, how to readjust to life after living abroad. But no one really mentions how to cope with how much home has altered in your absence.

No matter how many times I leave home and then come back after an extended period of time, I am still always shocked, bewildered, and a bit annoyed about how much has changed. I mean, my home is my constant, my one homeostatic realm in the midst of all my chaotic, whirlwind movements around the globe. How dare anyone think they have the right to change that?

Home sweet home, the Severn River in Annapolis

Obviously, I know how selfish and entirely impossible this is. But nonetheless it's still a problem I encounter every time I come home, and there's always a period of turmoil where I feel I just don't fit in, that home has moved on without me. And in a way it has. There is so much that I miss while I'm gone, and that is above and beyond the worst part of my vagabond lifestyle. I miss so much that sometimes I don't feel like I have the right to come back and expect people to make room for me in their lives after so long, only to run away yet again.

So is there a solution? Not one that I have found yet. It's just something that I, and all travelers, have to deal with and accept. Time can't stand still while you're gone, and it shouldn't. All you can do is enjoy the moments at home you are present for.