Etching by W.H. Boucher (click to see link)

They say you can never go home, but I beg to differ.
This weekend I’m going home. “Home”  being a place created by meeting up with my brother and sister. We aren’t normally within a few thousand miles of one another, so it’s truly special when we’re together. We’ll laugh, we’ll talk… we’ll breath in each others presence. That special gut feeling of being with family, that I miss so much, will hit me, overwhelm me, and soften me in a way that nothing else can.
The last time we got together we chose Las Vegas. Woo hoo, did we have fun watching Cirque de Soleil, eating Chinese Food, walking the strip and soaking in the Vegas culture. This time we’re meeting in Hamilton, a small city in Ontario. It will be quieter and there won’t be the bright lights, but the being together part trumps all.  I’ll get a chance to see my nephew and niece and their children as well. I’m excited.
I understand the line, “You can never go home.” It’s like the line, “The river is never the same,” but I think it misses a big point, in fact, the biggest point in life. The home and the river fundamentally don’t change. The love that lives there will always be there. It may look different. I certainly look different. But the essence remains the same.
So what do you think? Can you go home?