A homecoming becomes easier when curiosity arrives before the demand for an explanation.

Coming back is rarely the simple part. A person returning from a long absence, a failed plan, a different country or a different life usually arrives braced for the question of what happened and why. Being asked to justify yourself in the first hour turns a homecoming into a hearing. Questions asked out of interest, about what the days were like or what surprised them, do the same work without the cost.

If someone is coming back to you soon, leave the explanation until they offer it. Ask about the ordinary details first and let the account arrive in its own order.