Another lunch, another eavesdrop:
‘And then you go back and not a thing has changed, apart from the children of course, but these days it’s just not worth it.’
What a pity it wasn’t a juicier snippet. If I have to sit around waiting for people in restaurants (cough, #firstworldproblems), at least let me overhear something original/funny/steamy.
Of course, what the people at the next table were really talking about was Perspective, with a big pee. A move gives one a different perspective, so yes, once you have relocated you may get the sensation that you’ve changed more than those left at home. Actually, plenty of things give us perspective: a new love, a new job, an affair, a life loss. It is sheer arrogance to assume that nothing changes at home just because you are not there. It is the same as saying: “You haven’t done this, therefore you haven’t grown as much as me.”
In replying I feel tired, trite even, in disagreeing, panto-style, that in fact oh yes they have changed, they’re just doing it under different skies, that’s all.

Meh. Don’t go back, then, I doubt anyone will mind. Cheque please.