We are traveling back to Tbilisi, Georgia in October. It will be exactly two years since we returned to the U.S. We left a lot of friends there, the place we volunteered almost two years of our time. When we first got home, we marveled at the fresh air, the tall trees, the green grass, the food we’d missed. But now we’re ready to venture back to the mountains, the language, the hospitality, the wine and the food. Somehow the rough sidewalks, crazy drivers and hot summers seem unimportant.
Can you go back again? I love my husband’s sentimental heart. He sees time in parallels. When I take a trip without him, he graphs where I am, hour by hour. And then when I return, he compares where I was and where I am now, hour by hour, his concern and love evident.
I know we will be welcomed and we will find joy in service. But I also know the kids have grown (two years is half a lifetime). The adults have learned more languages and our successors have modified the systems we setup. Each person’s story has progressed without us.
So, I plan to make new memories, experience the place in a fresh way and visit new sights. But, it’s comforting to see what hasn’t changed, too. Don’t we all like that?