93/365 The holiday unpacking and washing marathon starts!

I love holidays. I hate both packing AND unpacking! (In the 1930’s I would have had a maid / valet to do this for me! Haha!) But WHY do I love holidays? The few years before this last one, I barely took a holiday, and if I did it was a week off at home, or a weekend away with friends, all of which recharge the batteries to some extent. But this last year and a half I have vowed to go away for a week every quarter, sometimes expensive exciting international holidays like Iceland, sometimes a week away cheap ‘n’ cheerful style like the previous week in the Lakes. Maybe I wouldn’t feel the need to do this as strongly if I didn’t do the job I do, there is no doubt that after 3-4 months of continuous work there, my soul is starting to wilt and the frequency of migraines gets ever closer together! It’s a job that I mainly love, but is also to put no finer point on it is all consuming, and after a while it’s easy for “Work Jules” to become a permanent fixture, even at home. Then it’s time for a holiday and to remember who I really am outside of targets, quotas and reporting lines.

I love the juxtaposition of thoughts that a holiday brings, before I go away, normally I am sick and tired and terminally fed up of routine, my house, my job, my kitchen, cooking, shopping, washing, everything! I love rocking up somewhere new, and having to learn new things, eat new food, deal with new weather conditions, sleep in a different bed, not have any chores to do. But give it 7 – 10 days, and I am ready to come home, and when I come back, I Love LOVE LOVE my little house! My own bed, being able to just have some toast for lunch when I want to! tea, having a whole wardrobe of clothes to choose from, going to a shop and seeing the food that I am used to and like, being able to heat the house the way I want, having my own stuff around me etc etc – you get the picture, ALL the stuff that wound me up only a week ago!! (To say I am a person of extremes is no exaggeration as you can tell!)

And I think that’s it, my mind, at best an intelligent, curious, interested beast, at worst an absolute pain in the neck, never ceasing, restless, obsessive analyser of everything NEEDS some “time out” on a regular basis, needs to shut itself up by contemplation of all new things / people / places / events / challenges / food and experience. Then I come back home calm and refreshed and fully appreciative and grateful for everything and everyone in my day to day life. (And with a new love of feathered friends in this particular instance!) God bless holiday time. Amen x


P.S. You can see the full Lake District Photostream top left now!