Coming home is always good, isn’t it? Leaving Europe behind and looking forward to a BIG flight does take stamina and a good state of mind. I guess getting enough sleep was my main priority. On the second leg from Singapore to Brisbane I did manage 3 hours sleep. Arriving in the evening at Brisbane airport is a first for me, so the first happy distraction was the greetings of 3 of my children. They popped out of the blue as I made my way to the driver who would take us back to Mapleton. Lovely smiles, proud ME! and big hugs. It was wonderful to have a 10 minutes conversation with them as they all came together.

The next happy distractions came when I turned my mobile phone back on and watched the “Welcome back” messages hit the screen. As I navigated my way through the next 5 days of unpacking, filling the refrigerator, checking the mail and paying bills etc, my body did play tricks on me with the day and night time cycles. Some jet lag and waking in the early hours of the morning is natural after a 21 hour flight home.

After adjusting from summer to winter, outdoor to indoor ( raining in Mapleton) , to sleeping in hotels to sleeping back in my bed, from quiet to noisy ( grand children), life has changed rather abruptly. It’s dark earlier and I am remembering the beautiful walks at Lake Como and Aix-en Provence around 8-9pm. Coming home there are more distractions that muddle your brain, test your energies and surprise your senses.

Like visiting all the little grand children in one week and testing yourself again to see if you are “sane”. There’s the phone distraction from my brother who rings as I am about to put Matilda in the trolley at Coles supermarket. The phone ringing when driving one of the children home from school. The constant attention to the road, then the distraction when one of them drops a toy on the floor and you cannot do anything about it. Well, what happens, is you miss the exit and end up driving the long way home.

I enjoyed going to my grand daughters sport’s carnival – a happy distraction from sleeping in.

See how excited my son and her are as they race with each other. The ball games, relay races, long jump and egg and spoon. Little competitors having fun in glorious sunshine.

Go Simpson go! A flash of blue and gold.

From the sports day to school pick up and Audrey shows me her shell collection from Dicky Beach, Caloundra. There’s nothing sweeter than a child showing you their treasures. Wrapped in soft tissue in a container, the shells and coral were reminders to me about the simple joys of life. It also reminded me of Nice and the smooth, white pebbles on the beach.

Another happy distraction was Tilly and her dress ups! In a cane basket there are hidden costumes to try on. Watching her put them on is hilarious.

A Spanish dancer in the making!

Coming home from a trip away also brings some unexpected interruptions like when I backed the car out of my son’s drive way and hit a screw in a post resulting in my back tyre going flat. That took place after loading the kids and all the gear in the car ready to leave for a trip up the coast. Calm, my daughter-in-law was calmer than I felt. A kind neighbour and an hour later we were off driving.

The other not so happy distraction came the day before when I left my handbag with phone and important items behind. After a stressful discovery that my hand bag was not where I thought it should be and memory loss, it worked out with my son tracking down the location – the op shop!! not before I involved another neighbour and phoned from her mobile. This distraction caused me panic and some tears when I was convinced that I really left my blue handbag behind at a garden nursery. Perhaps, the jet lag had robbed me of my clarity – or maybe I was doing too much.

Anyway, now I am back home with the other grand children playing pirates! AHOY me hearties! Until next time, thanks for reading. Provence seems a life time ago! Venice vanishing fast.