As I write this, we've been home two weeks after traveling across the eastern hemisphere for 42 days. A host of changes shocked me.
First off, the jet lag was a killer.
It was fun for the first few days - the second night I had some cocktails, and given the jet lag and couldn't sleep, I was a wide awake drunk until sunrise.
The last time I remember seeing the sunrise while out all night was when I was in Rio de Janeiro back in my 20s. I recall looking over the calm waters of the Atlantic while calling - someone - from a payphone on the uniquely tiled sidewalk of the Avenida Atlantica on Ipanema (if you've been there, you now the pattern to which I'm referring. I remember that sunrise so vividly. I have no idea what I did all night before. But I do remember the golden morning light illuminating Corcovado as the sun worked its way - still out of sight - from behind Sugarloaf mountain. I can't even recall who I called that morning, but I do remember describing the feelings and emotions filling me. That's the wonder of travel, in a nutshell.
So, jetlag was an issue for the week after our return. I couldn't get to sleep before 2am and in no way could get out of bed before noon. It was awful.
Second, the shock of being back home and returning to a place that wasn't cleaned daily by housekeeping, and where our meals weren't placed before us. We have a fairly large home, with two dogs, and it gets dirty fairly quickly (dust, dog hair, etc.). No more lounging by the pool. No more leisurely walks along the beach. It's quite a shock after a month and a half of leisure.
Finally, the stress of not having employment swept back over me, pulling me into a state of anxiety as if I were caught in a riptide. During our vacation (with a few notable exceptions, times where the fear of returning home ebbed into my consciousness, and impacted my ability to relax), I was able to pull away from the negative feelings (guilt, shame, ineffectiveness) associated with being at home and unemployed, and found myself fully engaged with the family, firmly enjoying our time together (as one should on vacation).
For those of you following my footsteps over the past two months on this blog, you may remember that I had been discussing an opportunity that would have brought me to Hyderabad, India. In the end, the company with which I was in talks was not able to offer an expat package, and could only extend a local compensation package. Since my family would have stayed in Seattle, the only way the opportunity would have worked required an American salary. It simply didn't work out. Looking back, I suppose it was meant to be. It would have been hard to be away from my family for such an extended period of time with only a few trips back to visit. It would have probably crushed me emotionally.
On the positive side, our family was able to create a long list of new memories - ones that we'll look back on with fondness and laughter; ones that we'll be able to share and reminisce over for years to come. I hope my kids, when they're older, will see this trip as more than a collection of photographs and blog posts, and will remember the feelings and emotions associated with the trip.
The wind whipping in their faces as we raced across Phang Nga bay towards the island where the movie The Beach was filmed.
The thrilling fear of racing down the (tame) rapids of the Ayung river flowing through the deep ravines near Ubud.
The near heatstroke induced by the unrelenting desert heat north of Dubai.
The laughter filling our room as the kids and Leslie asked Apple's Siri an increasingly disturbing, but hilarious, set of questions (the answers, though shocking, were comical given Siri's silly tone and accent).
Memories for a lifetime. Memories that will last.
First off, the jet lag was a killer.
It was fun for the first few days - the second night I had some cocktails, and given the jet lag and couldn't sleep, I was a wide awake drunk until sunrise.
The last time I remember seeing the sunrise while out all night was when I was in Rio de Janeiro back in my 20s. I recall looking over the calm waters of the Atlantic while calling - someone - from a payphone on the uniquely tiled sidewalk of the Avenida Atlantica on Ipanema (if you've been there, you now the pattern to which I'm referring. I remember that sunrise so vividly. I have no idea what I did all night before. But I do remember the golden morning light illuminating Corcovado as the sun worked its way - still out of sight - from behind Sugarloaf mountain. I can't even recall who I called that morning, but I do remember describing the feelings and emotions filling me. That's the wonder of travel, in a nutshell.
 |
| Ipanema and the unique mosaic tiled walkways |
So, jetlag was an issue for the week after our return. I couldn't get to sleep before 2am and in no way could get out of bed before noon. It was awful.
Second, the shock of being back home and returning to a place that wasn't cleaned daily by housekeeping, and where our meals weren't placed before us. We have a fairly large home, with two dogs, and it gets dirty fairly quickly (dust, dog hair, etc.). No more lounging by the pool. No more leisurely walks along the beach. It's quite a shock after a month and a half of leisure.
 |
| Louie (as a baby) |
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| Chucky (also as a babe) |
Finally, the stress of not having employment swept back over me, pulling me into a state of anxiety as if I were caught in a riptide. During our vacation (with a few notable exceptions, times where the fear of returning home ebbed into my consciousness, and impacted my ability to relax), I was able to pull away from the negative feelings (guilt, shame, ineffectiveness) associated with being at home and unemployed, and found myself fully engaged with the family, firmly enjoying our time together (as one should on vacation).
For those of you following my footsteps over the past two months on this blog, you may remember that I had been discussing an opportunity that would have brought me to Hyderabad, India. In the end, the company with which I was in talks was not able to offer an expat package, and could only extend a local compensation package. Since my family would have stayed in Seattle, the only way the opportunity would have worked required an American salary. It simply didn't work out. Looking back, I suppose it was meant to be. It would have been hard to be away from my family for such an extended period of time with only a few trips back to visit. It would have probably crushed me emotionally.
 |
| My visit to Hyderabad in 2009 |
On the positive side, our family was able to create a long list of new memories - ones that we'll look back on with fondness and laughter; ones that we'll be able to share and reminisce over for years to come. I hope my kids, when they're older, will see this trip as more than a collection of photographs and blog posts, and will remember the feelings and emotions associated with the trip.
The wind whipping in their faces as we raced across Phang Nga bay towards the island where the movie The Beach was filmed.
 |
| Leaving Ao Nang |
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| Phi Phi Island - Home to "The Beach" |
The thrilling fear of racing down the (tame) rapids of the Ayung river flowing through the deep ravines near Ubud.
 |
| In calmer waters |
 |
| Family time |
The near heatstroke induced by the unrelenting desert heat north of Dubai.
 |
| The Heat of the desert |
The laughter filling our room as the kids and Leslie asked Apple's Siri an increasingly disturbing, but hilarious, set of questions (the answers, though shocking, were comical given Siri's silly tone and accent).
Memories for a lifetime. Memories that will last.
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