Absence makes the heart grow fonder

I still miss my American host family from Chelmsford, Massachusetts. It took me almost 4 days by train to travel from Portland, Oregon to their lovely home. It snowed all the way over there, so I didn't see much else than white landscapes and my intention was to see all the different states we passed through.

My host dad picked me up at Boston Railway Station. I was exhausted.. didn't know whether I was supposed to eat or sleep. I felt filthy because I had not had the opportunity to shower on the train.

But my host family made me feel very welcome all at once. They trusted me with their 2 precious sons of 5 and 9. They were absolutely adorable and one of them sat on my lap right away. The boys wanted to teach me English words, because they had had a Belgian au pair before and she spoke nothing but French. So they were pretty glad I understood them and they could communicate with me.

The saying: absence makes the heart grow fonder, is a true saying. I missed my host family deeply when I had returned to Belgium. I cried over them for quite a while. It's been a long time and I have visited them once. But they are still in my heart.

The strange thing is, I didn't miss my own family while being in the States. So the saying doesn't go both ways for me. And I had the impression they had not missed me either..

Sometimes I wish I had found a solution to remain in the US back then. But on the other hand, I would not have met my husband, nor would I have had my two wonderful girls..