And I’m back on the couch with a cup of coffee in hand and Har by my side. It’s as if we never left….Except we did.
For ten days we traveled around Eastern Europe seeing castles and palaces and medieval pub bars and enjoying long dinners and it felt like we were away two months but at the same time only two days. And I feel tired and sad it’s all over, yet happy and rejuvenated to be back home. How can one be happy and sad, tired and rejuvenated all at the same time? I HAVE NO IDEA. But I’m telling you, that’s how I feel.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, travel messes with my head. The days just go so damn fast and we’d find ourselves walking 15-20 miles a day, doing our best to see all the sights, while still trying to enjoy and relax a bit (meaning lunch beers were had quite frequently.) Then we’d collapse into bed at night only to wake up and do it all over again.
There would be moments (usually during said lunch beers) when we’d be overlooking the Danube river, or sitting on a gorgeous side street in Vienna, and I’d would say, “Chris, look at where we are. How is this real? How are we really here?” Moments like that where I made sure to live in the present and soak it all up, only to be followed by other moments where I’d find myself a bit homesick and craving my normal routine.
For just a minute or two, I would miss my slow mornings at home with Harlow and our easy little routine of going to the park and then coming home to tackle some work, and if you’re reading this thinking “whoa you’re an idiot on a great Euro vacation missing work?! Get outta here.” I know, I know, it sounds dumb. But I also learned that belittling yourself for missing home doesn’t help either.
And after some slight introspection, I realized that perhaps the “homesickness” I was feeling wasn’t even homesickness at all, but it was just my body’s reaction to being surrounded by hundreds of people (the streets of Prague were PACKED) at all times. To go from spending 9+ hours a day, five days a week, with only the company of my dog, to being surrounded by herds of people at any given turn, well that’s quite a transition on an introvert’s soul. There was one point during a tour of Schönbrunn Palace, when the room was so full of tourists that every single person was touching the other when I turned to Chris and said, “I’m out.” And then I walked into the hallway, found a quiet little corner, and took the most heavenly minute to myself to just be.
When the tour was over and Chris saw me tucked in the corner just smiling to myself he laughed and said, “where there’s a corner, there’s a Tay.” Because I love corners. If Baby doesn’t want them that’s fine with me, I’ll take all of them.
Where was I? Oh yeah, the faux feelings of being homesick.
I’d allow myself to feel those feelings, then quietly remind myself that home (and my alone time) would still be there when I got back, and for now I had to live and enjoy the awesome moment I was in, because I also had a sneaking suspicion that in just a week (as in now) I would be longing for those fast paced vacay mornings. And guess what? I was right! Shocker!
Well, I was kind of right, for the most part it feels great to be back.
Chris and I both noted that we’ve come back with a bit of a lais·sez-faire attitude. Rather than running around in a state of fear and anxiety over all I have to do and catch up on, I’m choosing to just take it all in a little slower. I’m getting the work done that needs to be done, I’m just giving myself a little more time than usual to do it. I left my business for ten days and it’s still standing upon return. Who knew the world could go one without my constant monitoring and hovering?! WHO KNEW?
I have no idea where this new relaxed-me has come from, but I know enough not to question it. When you’re feeling content and at ease the best thing you can do is not ask why, but instead just enjoy the hell out of it and milk it for all it’s worth, because there’s a very good chance the anxiousness could be back tomorrow.
All that said, I can truly say that this is probably the best vacation we’ve ever had. The timeframe, the places we stayed, the things we saw, we loved it all. And between Vienna, Budapest, and Prague we still can’t decide which city was our favorite. Maybe after I post 1000 photos of each city in the upcoming posts perhaps you can decide?
More to come….