Living abroad has its perks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_effect while visiting India – relatives linger a little longer when they talk to us, as if our passport makes us soft and special. So, welcome to “Spotlighted Storytold : Felt As A Headline”.

There’s sweetness in being missed, but also a quiet discomfort in how quickly we become a story to be retold. We didn’t want to return this year, but we’re glad we did. We’ve lived lifetimes they weren’t part of. And still, we call it “homecoming.”

To know the deets of unseen tears when home feels a world away, click on Unseen Tears : When Home Feels A World Away – Wander, Feast & Thrive

Felt As A Headline : Spotlighted Storytold

Living abroad is awesome, especially in India, where we arrive with just a few suitcases and become the stars of everyone’s Netflix special. At our nephew’s thread ceremony, it feels great when relatives pause to chat with us, their faces lighting up with questions about Canada and our lives. We soak in the sweetness of being absent, cherishing their warmth while noticing their curious heads tilting, eager to catch glimpses of who we’ve become.

Didn’t plan to steal the show at my nephew’s sacred rite of passage, but we find ourselves in the spotlight anyway, while feeling a surge of gratitude as our relatives enquire about our lives, whispering blessings we can’t fully translate. In that moment we’re both honored and vulnerable, a guest in our own family’s story. We accept their attention because it reminds us that home always holds us close, even when we feel adrift.

The ceremonies’ chants echo through the hall, and we let their rhythm catch in our chest. We sense pride in my parents’ eyes, mingled with relief that their child has done well. Our heart thumps with nostalgia for our own youth—the day we wore that same type of costume, the faces around us so much younger, so much simpler. Now, we return as both witness and participant, walking the line between the familiar and the foreign.

We didn’t want to go, but glad we did. Returned reluctantly and found ourselves at the center of a story we never wrote. Feared the spotlight, but its glow felt soft against our skin. In their curiosity and love, we rediscovered a piece of myself we’d left behind—and carried back with us, thread by precious thread.