Welcome Home!

“Welcome home!” is a phrase we’ve all heard before and, if you’re like me, you either think nothing of it, you think it’s sweet in the moment and then forget it, or you take it for granted. 

These two simple words were so sweet to hear and produced one of the biggest smiles on my face once I got back in the good ol’ US of A from a few of my trips abroad.  I was actually very disappointed to not have heard it on my last trip.  I was expecting to hear it and looking forward to the special greeting, even from a complete stranger.

It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been gone.  Being greeted with those words is enchanting because they hold so much meaning -- the trip is complete, I’m safe, I really am home.  Relief spills over me, while reverse culture shock may begin and familiar things come back into my life.

I love to travel to see and experience different countries and cultures.  The trips do many things, but one thing is to help me know that I love and appreciate America.  I am truly proud to be an American and would not wish to be anything but.  On my recent trip to China, I realized this and more about America and myself through a young man I met who was obsessed with the US.

I was basically a walking, talking, free English lesson that he whole-heartedly took advantage of.  I didn’t mind at first, yet by the real end (I tried to politely end the conversation several times) I was exhausted with all the focus to understand him and then respond with words he understood.  The topic he wanted to talk about was easy, thankfully.  It was non-stop about America while double-checking English phrases he’d learned intermittently.  He kept telling me things, like he loves America, that Obama is great, and America is the land of opportunity.  He even started singing our national anthem.

Of course, he wants to visit the US.  Yep, that’s the super crazy part -- he’s never even been to America!!  He taught himself English and stops random westerners to be his flash-in-the-pan tutors.  Naturally, I’m a rock star in his eyes.  He’s jealous of my nationality and way of life.

As our country celebrates Memorial Day today, I can’t help but think of this young man.  He has no real reality of America and yet he’s completely fascinated with it.  I just want a drop of his almost unbelievable enthusiasm for my own country.  I can’t help but think, how many people sacrificed years of service and the ultimate sacrifice of their life for my freedom, for me to able to proudly say that I am an American, for me to enjoy the life I have in a beautiful country, for me to feel safe, for me to hear “welcome home”?  It’s amazing all the things I take for granted.

Heartfelt thanks today and always to those who serve in the armed forces, both past and present.