Homecoming

Just weeks ago, it seems, I was watching the icon of an airplane on my monitor, crossing the Atlantic on its way to Germany. I marveled at the flight tracking software and closed my eyes to envision Ben on the final approach to Hamburg, his home for the next eight months.

Now I'm sitting and watching again, this time as Continental #75 enters U. S. airspace on its way to Newark Liberty International Airport. A full academic year has flown by very quickly. Ben's coming home.

Kathie and I are eager to see him, yet anxious because we know and understand he is returning with mixed feelings. He's made very good friends in his year at the University of Lueneburg. They even got up at 5 a.m. to help him get his luggage to the Lueneburg train station for the trip to Hamburg.

He's coming home more of a young man than ever, independent of us, free-thinking and somewhat free-spirited. After having visited so much of Europe, his home in Ohio may be confining.

That being said, new opportunities await him. Summer in Ada won't compare with holidays in Vienna, Brussels or Copenhagen, but his work at the university will get him one step closer to graduation and his own career. The summer schedule may allow him to spend more time with his profs discussing grad school options and a teaching career.

The flights, and the time, pass quickly. For now, we'll celebrate Ben's homecoming and give him a huge hug.