Being quite addicted to traveling (yes, I have to admit that!), I love taking my luggage and heading to the airport, visiting new countries or getting back to familiar places. Although I was over 25 when I took my first flight, travel became an addiction soon.
I’ve been to more than thirty countries in the last few years, visiting some of them dozens of times.
I have friends, sisters, and brothers around the world. I always look forward to seeing them and spend some time together. Online chats and calls are great when you have such a global network of friends, but believe me, nothing can be better than seeing them in person.
Traveling became an essential part of my and my family’s lives. In most cases, I go by myself, but I take them with me as often as I can, at least once a year. This is how my eldest children visited more countries than their ages…
With this background, you can imagine how painful “not traveling for more than a year” might be for me. Actually, I got home from my latest flight 403 days ago: I visited Singapore for speaking at the IKO Conference. Now, I am on my way to Singapore again, breaking this streak of no travel.
(Well, I was visiting Zagreb, Croatia late May — early June, after staying home for “only” 356 days, but it was a quick car ride since it’s so close to my home. So while I consider it as a quick business trip when I saw many foreign friends of mine, I don’t think about it as a “real” travel.)
So now, I am on my way to Singapore again, and I’m very excited about it. It is one of my favorite places in the world, and I have some of my most wonderful friends over there. And the food!… ;)
I had a good reason to stay home, though, and of course, I’m not complaining about it at all. (If you missed it, our third child was born last September). This period of 403 days has been one of the most beautiful ones of my whole life. But yes, it had ups and downs.
I had the most precious moments with the kids that I’ll cherish forever. I also know now that I have the greatest friends ever. Both local and global, geography doesn’t matter.
Well, actually it does. I miss seeing some of my friends insanely. Sometimes I felt lonely, separated, lost and even forgotten. (But then, my friends came to my rescue!)
I was exhausted more than I would ever admit.
But one thing is sure. I would never exchange these days to anything else.
Here are some lessons I’ve learned this year:
It is possible not doing something you love (or addicted to) for more than a year. Especially if you have a good reason. Especially, if you have a wonderful and inspiring reason. It needs dedication, but it’s absolutely possible.
Having bad days is OK. Being exhausted is OK. Even crying is OK. Just let your emotions come and go, live them, then let them go. It’s all OK. Don’t worry. Everyone has hard days, even if they don’t admit it in public. Even I do ;-)
Traveling is fun. Seeing old friends and making new ones, visiting familiar places or new ones are all great experiences. I still encourage you (and everyone) to travel as much as you can, keep your mind open and enjoy it. But breaking the travel maze has its own benefits, too. You can slow down. You can focus on yourself, your beloved ones. Moreover, you can find out what the really important things in your life are. And you can find out who the really important persons in your life are.
You can try out new things. I have always wanted to write more. Now it was time to do this. When I started working on my book, I was not sure what the outcome will be. I am definitely not going to be rich from this book (unless someone decides to purchase a few thousand copies ;) ). But it’s a good feeling seeing that people find it useful. Reading the feedbacks makes me feel proud. I am glad I tried. And to be honest, I enjoyed writing as much that I am already planning the next book(s). Without staying home for more than a year probably this would have never happened.
No, working with a baby and two elder kids is not easy at all. It needs dedication, self-organizing, patience and even some sense of humor. It doesn’t happen out of blue, or because you are lucky. But it’s possible.
These 403 days have changed me a lot, to my better (I hope!).
Nut now, I am ready to take off again.
Have you ever experienced being “withdrawn” what you love doing? How did you manage that? What were your biggest challenges? How did you overcome them? Please let me know.
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