It’s taken me longer to write this post than any other post. I’ve been working on it for about three weeks now.  It’s strange really because I am so very thankful for the time we’ve chosen to purposefully travel the world and embark on a fantastic adventure, but at the same time, I am honestly feeling a little homesick.  I’ve really been trying to pinpoint where the source of these feelings are coming from, and it hasn’t been easy.  I’ve said before, and I still believe, my “home” is wherever Jim and Nolan are, and most days I feel settled and calm in our Airbnb houses, but every once in a while this little “homesick” bug sneaks up on me.

Here’s what I’ve come up with …

First, my entire life I’ve lived in Indiana where we have four distinct seasons; Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.  I don’t think I’ve ever noticed before but the changing of seasons has a significant impact on my mind processing time. We are basically living in perpetual summer, so while we’ve been on the road for 5-months, it’s still summer-ish, so my brain doesn’t seem to processes the passing of time the same. As we end each city, I start to notice the small signs of fall in the trees, but then we leave.  Even as I write this post, I am looking out the window to a beautiful blue sky, palm trees, and the ocean. My mom did send me a fall wreath, which I have cut up into three different pieces and spread around the house — AND, she sent me candy corn, which is one of my all-time favorite Fall treats.

Second, we are headed into the holidays, which is my favorite part of the year. I love decorating, cooking, baking, drinking coffee by the fireplace, and spending time with my extended family. I fully expected November & December to be the hardest part of the trip. Someone recommended rather than focusing on our traditions from back in Indiana, to focus on the local traditions instead.  In theory, that seems like a good idea, but I think that would make it worse for me. Instead, I think the key will be to try to keep a few of our little traditions going even in Spain & Tanzania. For now, I am prepping for Thanksgiving. I have researched and acquired pumpkin pie supplies, I have a plan for our turkey, and we’ve even invited a few of our new local friends to enjoy Thanksgiving with us.  As always, I might be taking on too much, but tis the season!

I guess the purpose of this post is allow myself to feel homesick, but also help me refocus on the purpose of our trip. In the grand scheme of life, I will be home before I know it and wishing our time hadn’t gone so quickly.

Here’s to a wonderful holiday season — Happy Thanksgiving & Merry Christmas!

^Fall decor in Spain courtesy of Debbie Isenberg — ❤️❤️❤️!