First and foremost, my apologies for not blogging during the holidays. I was in Seattle for two weeks visiting friends and family and well, you know how that goes. It just doesn’t happen. You can look at the random instagram photos I posted above and see what happened instead. Ha!
But, I am back in Malta! Jet lag in tow. I left Seattle on New Years Eve at 6:30 pm, arrived in London on New Years Day at 11:00 am, local time. Left London at 8:30 pm and arrived in Malta at 12:30 am. Currently, it’s 7:20 am and I am still wide awake. Granted I slept a little on the flight to London, crashed at the Yotel (seriously, check it out.) for a couple hours, and napped on the way to Malta but still I should be sleeping.
I have lived away from home for almost 12 years now, if you include college. Seattle has always been that good place for me to go “visit” for a few days and then leave. I never envisioned myself living there or returning there for an extended period of time. Goodbyes were never easy regardless, but hardly ever did I cry when I left. That all changed last night. Oh my gosh. Waterfalls were coming out of my tear ducts. It was the hardest goodbye I have had since, maybe, I left for college.
I have no idea why this one was so hard. Sure I spent time with my friends, but they are all off having their own lives. I even spent a week of my stay writing two papers but still…hardest goodbye I have had. Maybe it was because of my family?
Perhaps it’s because I am on the verge of 30 and I realized that I am also on the verge of being single, unemployed with three masters degrees. That’s a scary thought.
Maybe it’s because I know deep in my heart, perhaps Seattle is where I should be? I have vowed never to move back there, but the older I get, the more appealing it gets. The issue with this logic, though, is that I have been gone for so long that I have a false reality of what to expect. My friends have all begun to start their own lives with husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, new friends, whatever.
There was just something about this trip home though that tugged at my heartstrings. I cried Sunday night after I went to bed. I tried to hold it together Monday, but about an hour before it came time to leave, I bawled. Then I did again at the airport after going through security and then AGAIN on the airplane. I was a certifiable mess.
To my friends and family at home, thank you all for the wonderful, relaxing trip home. Between the multiple trips to the Ram and the Shelter and the two family dinners and watching Seahawk football. It was wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, you should all by airplane tickets to come see me! Word on the street is that there’s some really cool places in Europe to visit and you know a really cool girl who lives here and is willing to meet you ANYWHERE! *hint hint*
I have a lot to write about in the coming weeks, a lot on my mind about 2012 and what 2013, hopefully, has in store. For now, though, maybe it’s time to just rent a movie on iTunes and relax. After all, I am leaving, AGAIN, tomorrow at 5:30 am to go to Istanbul for the weekend! Planning on checking another continent off that list!
“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” – Nelson Mandela
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