My husband & I have been away overseas for exactly one month , we left on 17th July and returned on 17th August. Over lunch we have been discussing how ‘full on’ the trip was, with very little down time.
I am an introvert and I need alone time to allow me to re-charge. This was difficult because we were surrounded by people who wanted to ‘do’ things. There was no time for afternoon naps so whenever I could I escaped into a book. Coming home has been like heaving a huge sigh and re-enforces yet again why I love the haven I have created here at our house. My clinic is downstairs and my study is at the back of the house, definitely my retreat spot, where I can write and think!
Don’t get me wrong, the holiday was fabulous and I realise how lucky I am to be able to travel overseas. We saw some amazing places, stayed with wonderful people and I got to spend quality time with my husband. I learned about other countries, other cultures but most of all I learned more about myself.
Going back to the country of my birth, (I am fortunate to have been a few times), and spending time in the area where my mother grew up, I had not been there since I was seven years old and we stayed with my grandparents just before we left … I connected with parts of myself that had either been hidden or I had left behind when we immigrated to Australia all those years ago. It was very emotional going to the church where I was christened.
I felt gratitude towards my parents, who have both passed over, for taking what must have been a monumental decision to move to the other side of the world in a time when the only communication was by letter which took over two months to get a response. Phone calls were astronomical, considered only for life and death situations, and returning was at a cost so huge it was unimaginable.
When I look back at the big picture from the vantage point I now stand, I have had a wonderful life. A much better life than if we had stayed in England.
I went to Glastonbury and ‘walked the Tor’, sat on the ground and marvelled at what has taken place there over so many centuries, I was even visited by a raven. I went to Scotland and connected with my Celtic roots. I spent time with my cousin, my only living relative in my generation or above. While I was there something changed, there was a huge shift, I could feel it. I’m not quite sure what but I know it will become clear in time.
Now that I have caught up on sleep and my head has slowly returned to the southern hemisphere, I am ready for the exciting things that are happening in the months to end this year.
Oh! and I have a new grandchild arriving in a few weeks!!
PS The photo is the church where I was christened
