A Welcome That Never Wears Out
We all know how the story goes. Life gets busy, time passes, and, if you’re not careful, so can relationships.
That’s the realization I had recently when one of my good friends from college invited me back to my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, to attend a game to watch the Badgers play a big-time football game against Ohio State.
For years, he had been great about continuing to invite me back to the Midwest — back to Madison, Wisconsin — the town where I got my undergrad degree and the place that I left — though it has never really left me.
Finally, I said, “I need to do this.” When we talked about the particular weekend in October when I was going to make the trip, he sounded a bit wary and said, “Oh, that’s the Ohio State game. We aren’t playing that well and Ohio State is really good.” I assured him that I wasn’t looking for a guaranteed win in a football game. After all, that was never the point. I was going to see him.
As expected, the Badgers (whom I have avidly followed for years) couldn’t pull out a win against the Buckeyes. But, in a way, it was almost better that way for me. It just reinforced that my trip back to Madison was about something a lot deeper than who could make more lights shine on a scoreboard.
This was the first time in 10 years that I was back on campus. As my friend and I made our way around the stadium and interacted with others who were there for this traditional rite of a college community, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in and gratitude for the place where I had gotten a good part of my education in life.
As the band played, and the throng of red-clad Badger fans prepared to go into the stadium for the game, I felt this strong sense of belonging that hadn’t been dulled at all by the decade I had been gone.
As I walked around campus that day, I thought about the classes I attended, the people I knew, and the people I miss from those years. This was a place of opportunity for me. And I could still feel it in the air.
In the end, I was struck by how seamless the process of returning was for me. I had been gone for so long. Yet, it didn’t feel like I had been. No one wants to wear out their welcome. But here, in this place, I realized that hasn’t happened.
In life today we hear a lot of references to inclusion and belonging. But there’s a big difference between the two. Inclusion is about being invited, which is fine. But belonging is that sense of being comfortable — of knowing that you’re in a place that feels truly like home.
“As the band played, and the throng of red-clad Badger fans prepared to go into the stadium for the game, I felt this strong sense of belonging that hadn’t been dulled at all by the decade I had been gone.”
My hope for you is that wherever your travels may take you during this holiday season, whether it’s down the street, across the country, or around the world, you find yourself in a place where it feels like you’re meant to be again — so that you can have your own heartfelt homecoming — just in time for Christmas.
