homesickness

Lately I've been thinking a lot about home. How much I miss everyone there. Its only when you are out of your country that you begin to understand the depth of feeling that you have for your home. When I was in college I would be the one to vociferously exclaim that I would defenitely be going out.. who wants to stay in this sleepy old town etc.... Now, I just wish I were at home. The one image that i get often now is that of one day when I was coming back home after tuitions . It was dusk. The evening light was just about fading and all was quiet. As I was walking into the house, I could hear my mother singing an old malayam song and when I looked in through the window, I could see my father reclining on a chair and reading the newspaper, my brother and sister were talking about something earnestly and that image, so calm, so tranquil is something that I could never capture afterwards. A feeling of love for all of them just swept me. Now all of us are in different places, married with kids, going through the hassles of life... no time for anything much anymore. I feel nostalgic. I was always close to my parents and my sister and my brother. We all were close to each other. Still are!!! When I think of all the sacrifices that our parents made for us, I realise that there will never be enough that we can do for them that will begin to repay all that they did for us. But now they live alone at home, with all their kids away in far places. Of course they are very happy that we are all doing so well in life. After all they sacrificed so much for this but....... I just think of their life alone. Nothing to look forward to. No grandchildren running and coming to hug them except for the yearly visit.No one to talk to. Always waiting for the phone to ring so they know that we remembered them. I wonder is all our sucess and prosperity worth this?or am I being unpractical? This is life is what my husband tells me but I wonder....!!!!!