I'm home! The journey through Black Friday was very long, but uneventful. I was frustrated that neither New York JFK nor Minneapolis SP airports had free wifi, and was unwilling to pay $8 to use it in either place. I wrote, worked on one of my editing jobs, racked up over five miles hiking around the terminal, but wished I could have been in communication.
What can I say? I live in a beautiful place.
Phil picked me up at the airport late on Friday evening, we crashed in Anchorage, ran some errands yesterday morning, and our drive home was full of bright snow, pockets of blue sky, and clear roads.
These sun rays are just gorgeous...
I'm not yet completely in harmony with my surroundings. There's work to catch up on on several fronts, writing, connecting with Phil, cleaning the house, redoubling my exercise efforts (nice to be back with my jump rope!) and I need to spend some time creating in the kitchen at some point too. I'm not even quite sure where to start.
On the blog too, I have a couple posts still to share about my trip. It's shocking, in a way, being back here so abruptly, having been in such a different world, to which I'm connected so differently.
It was wonderful to get to spend some time with my mom!
I wish that I could say that recognizing myself in my grandmother's pessimistic and negative tendencies has helped me to slough off all of my own negativity and cross-threadedness. But especially with the tiredness of the traveling, all the experiences to process, I haven't been as I'd have been proud of myself to be. I'll try to share some thoughts on how to move through this funk and toward behaving better over the next few days also.
How do you recover from a long, intense trip?
Glad you made it home safely. Along with all the other sudden, arresting changes you're experiencing in returning home, I bet the change in weather felt abrupt too!
ReplyDeleteAlaska is one place I want to visit. Actually my dad has a good friend that lives out there, and I have been wanting to come out there. One day...glad you made it home :)
ReplyDeleteI remember feeling frustrated without communication and that is why I love having a phone that can do a lot of thing my computer can with no wifi fee. but it's an investment for sure. and a distraction at times.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to feeling so out of whack after a trip. I just traveled a few hours away and I feel worn out from that. i just am pretty easy on myself and let myself have a few days to recover and not feel pressured to unpack right away (other than essentials). I like to ease into things. Your whole life is flipped upside down, including schedule and things like that so it's natural to need some time to adjust.
Amber, you are so right. The cold is definitely a shock--and it makes me feel like maybe even when I'm used to it, it's kind of a permanent low-level shock!
ReplyDeletelove
Ela
Lori/Michelle,
ReplyDeleteLet me know when you're coming to Alaska! How cool would it be to have a meet-up!
love
Ela
bitt--yes, I can imagine that having a smart phone would be a godsend in long airport situations.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion of taking it easy: I think it's probably essential. I'm anxious to catch up on all the work I didn't do while I was gone (I did some editing, but I hardly did anything toward preparing for the course I'm teaching, which is looming sooner and sooner) but I'm really not feeling very productive at all! Need to give it a few more days I guess.
love
Ela