Ok… So it’s been a while… Quite a long while in the blogging world.
I have an excuse (only one). We recently moved house into a stunning new flat, and due to being very disappointed in our previous ’service’ providers are in between Internet providers just now.
I’ve had a little access from work (in my own time) and the odd bit of wifi at times (like now), which is handy (and I’m grateful for it), but it’s not always reliable (what did we do before internet?).
It’s left me feeling…. well…. disconnected I guess.

And I’ve been thinking a lot about the pros and cons (of being away that is)… I mean why did we stay?… and is feeling overcome by homesickness a good enough reason to book tickets and start selling off our UK appliances?
I finished work the other night and spent 15 minutes checking my emails. In that time I found out someone in my family is very sick….. It is about 12 hours before we are due to sign the lease on our new flat… a month long work in progress and a much anticipated event. Despite wanting to, we just can’t go home.
I’m feeling emotional talking about this, but it’s worth talking about. How do you cope with a family sickness when you are so far away?

And while we’re on the subject, how are you supposed to handle missing all the good stuff too? It feels like everyone went and started having milestones just after we left.
One of my best friends in the world turned 40, my brother got engaged, my uncle got married, 4 of my ‘best girls’ have had, or are about to have babies, my cousin got engaged, my cousin turned 21, my brother turned 18 (and 19), long time family friends got married, and all the kids have just keep having birthdays…… the list is as long as a piece of string.

I know it sounds like I’m having a large sook (I am), and I guess since the day I left home for a life of travel, I chose to miss out on things. With that choice however has come a large sense of guilt and longing. Torn between where I think I want to be, and where I feel I should be….? Does that even make sense?

Moving ‘away’, especially with my family has given me a sense of independence, pride and somehow a new freedom to be whoever I want to be. The complete lack of history that brought this freedom has also fed my isolation at times, and left me feeling unsupported (no free nights out when mum’s on the other side of the Earth ).

The fact is friends and family back home do carry on with life. Babies are born, milestones are celebrated and people even get sick. They have not stopped their lives awaiting our return (did I expect that I wonder?).
Where will we pick up from when we do return? Will we just slot back in or have we set ourselves up to always be missing someone, somewhere?
How do you ‘cope’ with being away?

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