Home, sweet home
Getting home from overseas is a bittersweet experience. Sweet because you get to see all your people (and in my case, puppies), sleep in your own bed and have access to a full wardrobe (which is especially nice when you’re on your last pair of clean undies and you’re pushing 48 hours in them). Bitter because the big adventure is over, you have to say goodbye to your travelling buddies and because you have to go back to making your own bed, cooking your own meals and generally looking after yourself like a proper adult as opposed to a pampered ex-pat diplobrat.
One thing that really struck me this time is that every time I come home, I am filled with the overwhelming desire to change. Be better, thinner, smarter, more stylish and, for at least a day after I step off the plane, I throw myself into a tornado of improvement. I de-clutter, I clean, I buy new clothes, I move the furniture around. Essentially, I lose my mind in a very energetic fashion but somehow, this frenetic whirl leads to actual results.
Maybe the benefit of the holiday isn’t just in the novelty of being abroad. Maybe it’s that you bring some of that world home with you and manifest a more colourful version of yourself?
Tell me, Dearest Ones, how do you feel when you get home from a trip? Do you go a bit crazy too?
Having just arrived home after a week in Queenstown, I know exactly what you mean about wanting to implement some changes in your life after a holiday. But my returning home routine is typically a lot less productive, other than the laundry and a minor attempt at unpacking, all I do is crash on the couch and watch tv, enjoy sleeping in my own bed and start regaling stories of my adventures. In the past I’ve tried to keep up the sense of freedom and independence travel seems to give me, and I think that has changed me as a person, but since this was just a short trip to a country that is very similar to home I don’t think there will be any dramatic personality shifts this time around.
Welcome back darling! 🙂 We had an outing with Dash and Lucy and Mr D which was lots of fun. Missed you heaps! xxx
I know what you mean Em.
Every time I get back from travelling I feel the need for a drastic life change.
like the time I believed my life calling was as a scuba diving instructor after I came back from Thailand, or the time I felt that I should give up all my worldly possessions (except for a drum) after I came back from Brazil, or the time I thought I’d never drink Tequila again after I came back from Mexico… unfortunately none of these things transpired.
When I was away on my last trip I decided I was going to start doing pilates and meditation when I got home. I did go to some pilates classes, so that was a start!
But the biggest thing was that I got my wrist pierced while I was away. I got it done to remind myself of how I felt at that time – so so happy, independent, and and just free. So whenever I look at it now, I remember how different I felt when I was there 🙂
When I get to the 48-hour mark, I just go commando.
Having just come back from holidays in Thailand myself I totally agree!! I took one look around my apartment and proceeded to do the following. 1. Poured myself huge glass of sav blanc (even tho it was only 9am) – its hard to get decent wine in Thailand! 2. Scrubbed the bathroom and threw out stuff. 3. Hid all the random books littered around my living room. 4. multiple loads of laundry and a rework of the closet. 5. collapsed on the couch to watch pirated dvd. 6. enjoyed my own bed! Woke up next morning feeling jetlagged, sad at no more holiday and still not happy with the organisational state of my wardrobe..