Back again and baffled?

Well, I’m back from three weeks (very lucky me) in the Med. Three weeks of nothing resembling work, no early mornings, no commute. Three weeks to read and think. I remembered how much I hate airports. Maybe it’s my OCD peeking through, but they are always so grotty; even the planes. There is a coating of stickiness on everything. I had a shower before I left and I felt compelled to have another when I got home. That combined with being in a room/plane so crammed with people that you can actually smell them, makes traveling pretty stressful. I tried the lager/cinnamon/ginger remedy, and if you aren’t sick when drinking it, it works quite well. A valerian capsule before leaving helped with the anxiety.

Once there however, I started to relax. I didn’t take my mobile (I hate mobiles as I’m sure I’ve already said), so I was effectively cut off from the world. It was terrific. It always seems like my world shrinks on holiday and with it my worries. That’s not to say that I was completely relaxed all of the time I was out there; there were some social obligations as family friends were also out there, but I did manage to reduce my blood pressure enough so that there wasn’t a risk of my head exploding. I guess the sun helped lift my spirits as well. I’m not a sun worshiper; far from it (I’m more of a colder climbs man myself), but it does help the body to release mood lifting hormones. Let’s face it, it seems that you have to go abroad to find sunshine if you’re British.

All in all I think that this summer’s holiday was a success. Managing to relax for even five minutes is pretty rare for me! I enjoyed being in and around other cultures, and I even got to do a bit of history whilst out there. It’s really weird being back though. That kind of confusion you feel when you were in another country in the morning and then get into your own bed is most disconcerting. Waking up a home is also weird for the first few days. I thought that I would be glad to be going back to work and back into my old routine; but part of me wishes that I was back out there. I know that that is normal for NT’s, but for me it is quite disturbing. I love my home and my home county and I’ve never really wanted to be anywhere else, but now I am longing to be somewhere else. I’m bamboozled, perplexed, mystified and even baffled.