A Different Sort of Homecoming

null By Matthew HennesseyNov. 26, 2023 4:30 pm ETShareResizeListen(2 min)Emily Hand, a 9-year-old former Hamas hostage, hugs her father at a hospital in Israel, Nov. 26. Photo: -/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesMany things change as you get older. Responsibilities expand. Joints ache. One thing stays exactly the same: Hard times linger longer; good times go by in a flash.My daughter came home from college for Thanksgiving. She took the train to New York from Virginia, riding in on the Wednesday local and out on the Sunday express. America is a big country. The distances are Homeric—350 miles from her dormitory to our house. Often it feels like she lives in a different world. Sometimes I find it hard to accept. She’s 19, but she’s still my baby. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8Continue reading your article witha WSJ subscriptionSubscribe NowAlready a subscriber? Sign InSponsored OffersKohl's: Kohl's promo code: 30% Off fo

A person who loves writing, loves novels, and loves life.Seeking objective truth, hoping for world peace, and wishing for a world without wars.

Opinion Nov 27, 2023 Add to Reading List

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Matthew Hennessey

Nov. 26, 2023 4:30 pm ET

Emily Hand, a 9-year-old former Hamas hostage, hugs her father at a hospital in Israel, Nov. 26. Photo: -/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Many things change as you get older. Responsibilities expand. Joints ache. One thing stays exactly the same: Hard times linger longer; good times go by in a flash.

My daughter came home from college for Thanksgiving. She took the train to New York from Virginia, riding in on the Wednesday local and out on the Sunday express. America is a big country. The distances are Homeric—350 miles from her dormitory to our house. Often it feels like she lives in a different world. Sometimes I find it hard to accept. She’s 19, but she’s still my baby.