A look back on ten years since returning home

It’s hard to think back to the time when I returned home. Ten years seems like such a long time ago. I suppose it’s not surprising that after all this time, some details of that chapter have faded—my brain making room for the blur of new experiences back on home soil.

These years have been interesting. Returning to the U.S. didn’t simply mean going back to where I had left off. I had lived in New England for many years, so “coming back” meant settling near my hometown—an area I hadn’t lived in for quite some time and never expected to return to permanently.

That said, living here as an adult is completely different. After spending the previous decade in cities, returning to a more rural life may have been exactly what my soul needed, whether I realized it at the time or not. The privacy, quiet, and space to disappear are things I truly value now.

So, what has filled these last ten years? I started a new job, got married, earned a Master’s degree, and picked up a few new hobbies. The time has passed quickly through life’s ebbs and flows, relationships, and frequent travel.

Maybe it was because my subconscious sensed I was approaching a milestone that my thoughts kept returning to my time in Indonesia. I remember distinctly the difference between the heat and humidity in Jakarta the day I left and the bitter cold when I arrived in Canada to visit my sister before returning to the East Coast. Going from 90°F with 90% humidity to -40°F was quite a drastic change in January ten years ago.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to revisit my journals and reminisce about what life was like during that pivotal time. The minutiae of everyday life can cloud memories if we let it. Taking the time to relive past experiences helps keep those memories alive and maintain our connection to the people and places that matter most.

I wonder what I’ll find in those old notebooks. It should be fun.