Let’s enjoy starting work on a Thursday

So I’m back. Ottawa to Chicago, Chicago to Tokyo, Tokyo to Niigata and Niigata to Shibata. And 27 hours later.
I think I could probably describe my time at home as almost perfect. It was exactly what I needed at the time. To get out of Japan for a bit and rejuvenate myself. Things were getting a bit much for me before I left and I think I was close to going crazy if I were to have stayed. Time away allowed me to distance myself from everything here. This temporary escape has permitted me to feel happy about being back again. To be excited about living in Japan again, and about the upcoming year ahead.
My first few days home were a bit strange. It took almost a week for me to readjust to being back. Every person I saw I would expect to be Japanese, and when they weren’t I would expect to recognize them. English signs and conversation everywhere. Driving on the right side of the road again. Mostly it was being around my friends and feeling as though they had all moved on so much and were no longer doing what they had been doing when I last saw them. Or they were no longer in the same sphere of life. My Decision About Next Year was constantly on my mind and I agonized over it for hours every day. I felt that if I stayed here I would just continue to miss so much about everything at home. Not miss as in long for but miss as in life was moving on without me. Especially holding little Natalie and imagining her being two or three times the size the next time I saw her.
But then slowly I started to relax. I spoke at lengths to all of my friends over and over again about how they were feeling about this point in their lives. Slowly it became more clear to me that they hadn’t really changed that much at all. And, most importantly, I saw how lucky I am to have this opportunity to be here, with all that entails. I’m not committed to anything at home at the moment. I have no strings and that is what I realize is to be the most underrated thing I’ve got at the moment.
I enjoyed the novelty of being home to the fullest. The incredible blue skies and warming sun. the wide open spaces and driving in the car along the highway with nothing but trees for hundreds of kilometres. The diner breakfasts and ethnic food. Having dinner with my mum and chatting with friends. The ease of conversations with strangers and the familiarity of culture.
And now I’m ready to face Japan again.