Homecoming

Throughout the pilgrimage, I knew that our journey could have represented the journey of life (as cliché as that sounds), but I didn't fully have that sense until the end. I had walked this journey with a group that was in a way like a family because I didn't get to choose them, though I grew to love them.  The other friends on the path came and went just as people do, and some seemed like they were meant to stick around.

Arriving in Santiago felt like a homecoming in itself, even though I wasn't actually home yet. Walking into the square and standing under the cathedral, there was an overwhelming sense of happiness and accomplishment in the company of others. The massiveness of the cathedral and surrounding buildings of the square felt almost comforting. Seeing so many pilgrims of the Camino in one place created even more of a sense of that community I had felt throughout the whole pilgrimage.

The pilgrim's mass continued this homecoming. For me, it brought back memories of my extended family gathering for church at my grandmother's Lutheran church on Christmas Eve— it was always sort of a family reunion. Being at the pilgrim's mass felt like a family reunion, just with family I hadn't met yet. I saw the women from our train ride, and others I recognized from the path, and I watched as other pilgrims waved across the crowd to other befriended pilgrims. I felt very connected to everyone there. Whether they were someone I had seen every day, or someone I'd never met before, we had all travelled the journey in our own separate ways, yet come home together.