The Best Bits About Coming Home

“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed, is you.” ~ Eric Roth

I have had such a fabulous journey up the mountain and such an incredible post-mountain climb holiday that right up until the last-minute I didn’t want to come. Even after the last-minute had passed, I still didn’t want to come home.

But here I am, sitting once again in my study in front of my computer and I find myself home. Everything is familiar. Nothing has changed. Since yesterday it has been a peaceful time spent unpacking, doing load after load after load of washing and spring cleaning my house. I am waiting for the post-holiday blues to hit me and I know they will no doubt come soon. I don’t think I will ever be ready for the post-holiday blues, the after-party downer. Maybe it is in preparation for the inevitable, but today I looked for all a few reasons why it was good to be home and maybe when the blues come, I’ll be ready to move them right on.

So here are my best bits about coming home!

Running, jumping, crazy loving hugs from my baby girl nieces as I cleared security and the doors swooshed open to the arrivals hall. I had a ton of people walking in front of me so the girls didn’t see me straight away allowing me to see them first and the biggest smile spread across my face. The second they saw me, they ran straight under the railings (because they are small like that) and two little bundles of joy came running as fast as they could towards me. I let my trolley loaded with my luggage go and it rolled forward. I side-stepped around it and swooped down to receive them with arms wide open. The force of four tiny arms getting flung around my neck and the force of their bodies crashing into mine had me crashing down onto my knees as I took them in. Kate in my right arm and Emma in my left. It was the most beautiful moment ever! They hugged me for what seemed like an eternity, right there in the middle of the arrivals aisle ~ It was my best welcome home yet!
My precious nieces, who after long fabulous hugs hello earlier in the middle of the arrivals hall, got to ride on my delightfully smelly luggage.
A fridge that had been filled, dinner and my car had been cleaned, inside and out! Yes, I am blessed and have the most amazing parents ever. They sneaked into my house (well they didn’t really sneak into my house as I asked them to come and put the alarm on and get the keys after someone who was renting a room from me moved out) but they took the opportunity to fill my fridge with some essentials I would need upon returning, they bought me a roast chicken for dinner and made me some roast potatoes and some veggies so I wouldn’t have to worry about what to cook for dinner, and amongst other things, they stocked me up with bacon and eggs ~ my absolute favourite! What a treat for breakfast this morning. But that’s not all, on top of all of that, they cleaned my car inside and out! Little gestures like these, that are actually really big, make coming so much easier.
Dinner sorted so I didn’t have to worry about what I was going to cook to feed myself!
A beautiful bunch of flowers left on my kitchen counter by my mother. I love flowers as much as she does. They brighten up a home, they freshen the air, they smell beautiful and they just make everything look amazing!
Beautiful flowers to welcome me home!
I have to say one of the best bits about coming home is having my beautiful home all to myself again. I can create, love, dream, expand, sing as loud as I want and do whatever I want, when I want. When you have someone living with you, you sometimes lose some of those important things. My house is my own again so today I spent spring-cleaning. Out with the old and in with the new. It’s a fabulous way to start my new year.
Driving my car again! It is a simple pleasure that will soon be forgotten again and within no time become the norm. But climbing in, turning up my music, singing along to my favourite CD and just putting my foot down and driving. After walking what felt like the length and breadth of Argentina, and not to mention a mountain too, driving again has been a sweet, sweet pleasure.
My own bed with clean, fresh linen. My own sheets, my own duvet, my own pillow. I had the best sleep last night (well when my body actually let me sleep) and I slept in till 11:30am this morning. It felt so good!
Nothing beats coming home to sleep in your own bed.
Nice smelling, clean and crisp clothes. After wearing the same clothes over and over again for the last month, hand washing in the hotel basin and still having stinky mountain clothes and duffel bags with me that just made everything smell like a mule! Yes, it’s good to be home, it’s good to be wearing completely different and totally clean clothes and yes, it’s finally good to unpack and wash the mule smell out!
Clean clothes in my cupboard and with everything unpacked and washed, even my newly cleaned clothes were celebrating by dancing in the wind on the wash-line.
Sorting through the mail in anticipation of something good and what a nice surprise to find two Christmas cards from two special friends, one in the UK and one in Australia. Even thought Christmas has passed their messages and love from across the water made me smile.
Nice surprises in the mail from friends.
Unpacking and adding my new snow globe to my collection. I collect snow globes if I can find them or a small reminder from places I have been around the world. They sit in my study and each time I see them they make me smile. My snow globe this time is of a mountain and a condor and although it might not be the prettiest one it reminds me of a special moment we got to experience while on Aconcagua. As we were walking up our first steep incline around Day 3 we got to watch four Lama’s (which is an unusual sight to hikers) who were walking on the other side of the valley on the steep mountain side. It was amazing to watch them and to watch how they navigated their way over the steep terrain. Just after that as we started moving again we were greeted with the most amazing view of a Condor soaring above us. Then as it flew to perch high up on the mountain side, it came swooping back down as if for one more show, flying right in front of us, showing off in all its grand splendour. My snow globe, which now sits in my study along with my other travel reminders, will always remind me of that day on Aconcagua as we made our way up to Base Camp.
My new snow globe to add to my collection.
The quite! The world seems to have stood still for me today. The day before I return for work and before life returns to what most would class as normal. It’s peaceful. I’ve enjoyed it and although tomorrow I’m looking forward to seeing friends at work and sharing highlights of my trip, I’m still not quite ready to let it all go.