Homecoming

We just got back from a vist to the States, and it was a wonderful trip.  We crammed a lot into the two short weeks we stayed there, and as so often on such journeys, the time flew by, yet when I looked back before departing, it seemed as if we had been in the US at least a month.  True to form, while there I realized once again how very American I am and at the same time, how German I have become.  There are several blogs' worth of material to write about, but today I will concentrate on Homecoming, as it is the freshest in my mind and those are the words wanting to come out now........


This past weekend I went with my sisters Mary and Shirley to Homecoming at William and Mary, the college both Mary and I attended for undergraduate work.  It was Mary's 25th Reunion, and since Shirley turned 50 in June, we decided to use this opportunity to celebrate together.  We started our weekend in Williamsburg on Friday with a massage for each and then going to dinner at Christiane Campbell's Tavern in CW.  We laughted alot (even BEFORE our "specialty" drinks came) and talked a mile a minute, constantly changing subjects and almost never completely finishing a thought before jumping to the next one.  Since we were all staying in one hotel room, Shirl and I shared a bed, which was no problem, but I did have to fight for the covers. (It is one thing to share a bed, but something totally different to share blankets.  This is an area where I believe the Germans are way ahead of the Americans -- no matter how many people sleep in one bed, each person has his/her own quilt or duvet, so no need to worry about "cover-hogs".  Chris and I even had little tugs-of-war over the blankets when we slept in the same bed in NYC and at my parents' house, although we have been sharing a bed in Germany for many, many years!).


Saturday dawned bright and beautiful, and we rose early to get out for all the W&M Homecoming festivities.  After watching the parade, we walked through the campus to Patty and Co.'s tailgate party, where friends from my freshman dorm were gathering for a mini-Reunion of our own.  What a riot that was!  We looked, talked and acted just as we did over 30 years ago, and it was so interesting to catch up on what everyone is doing now and so fun to reminisce about old times.  Joan (my senior suitemate) and her husband Joe joined the party, just after their sons (both currently attending the college) showed up to check out the tailgate.  Sitting there in the sunshine, back to a place and time and with people that meant so much to me,  I couldn't help but wish that I lived closer so that I could visit more often.  I even began to feel a twinge of jealousy that David and Gregory (along with thousands of other young students) daily walked the paths of this pictuesque campus, but even as the thought popped in my mind, I knew I was actually just pining to be young again.


My sisters and I made it into the stadium to catch the third quarter of the game, but then left to wander around campus one last time.  So much has changed, but then so have we, so it was not easy to tell what was really different.  For me, the look and feel of the school was the same as when I was a student there, and now I appreciate the term "Homecoming" even more.   After eating supper separately (I went to dinner with Joan and family), Mary, Shirley and I went to Mary's Reunion Cocktail Party and then to the Alumni Bash.  Both events were nice, but aside from Donna and Skip (both old friends from Chester and W&M), I saw no familiar faces and Shirley knew not a soul.  Mary fluttered about, greeting old friends and acquaintances and those that thought they once were, so when Shirl and I left, she decided to stay for a bit.  But it wasn't long before she came back to the room, and as the three of us got ready for and then into bed, none of us could stop chatting.  It was our last night together, and even though we all knew the alarm was set for very early, it was tough to turn out the light and settle down.  This too, was a homecoming for me, talking with my sisters about our big and diverse family, and I did not want it to end, but eventually we all found our sleep.


Early the next morning, after a quick but sad good-bye to Shirley, Mary and I started out for Northern Virginia where Christof, Sam and Lukas were waiting for me.  We said our very last good-byes to Mary and her son Jonathan and then drove on to Philadelphia where we boarded a plane back to Germany.  After a (thankfully) uneventful flight, we arrived in Frankfurt and as planned, our oldest son Tim was waiting to pick us up.  It is only a 20 minute ride from the airport to our house, so it was not long before we were home.  And suddenly I realized the answer to my own question:   Homecoming -- can you ever really go home?   I have come home, or rather I am home, right here in Germany.  This is where my life is.  Plus I am glad to be back in my own bed, under my own covers so I can cocoon myself and not have to share with anyone else.