My Wanderlust is Starving
I don’t have any deep thoughts to share today with you. Yes, I am aware that the virus is still raging and tragedies are so front of mind these days, it’s hard to see the positives. And unlike most days, I’m not talking about the light at the end of the tunnel today. No, today I’m ranting about a different kind of problem; one that pales in significance to the real big issues we’re facing globally, but one that I desperately need an outlet for. So please, indulge me for a few minutes!
The truth is that I’m antsy. I’m itchy and I need to move. Franklin and I were talking the other day and we figured that this is the longest we’ve stayed in one place since we got together. Seriously, for the last 12+ years, we have always given in to our wanderlust. pre-COVID, the longest we had stayed put was 4 months; and that was in the years when we had babies. This is one of those crazy plans we made when we were planning our future which we haven’t had to adjust or fine-tune over the years. We planned to see as much of the world as possible, show our children as well, regardless of their ages; and also we planned an annual child-free getaway. Travel is also one of the ways we sort out issues - decompress, disconnect and reconnect, reinvigorate etc.
I can’t even trace where this inherent desire to move came from. I’ve always just accepted this restlessness/ wanderlust/ curiosity about the world as a part of who I am for as long as I can remember (or as long as I could afford it, to be very honest). The truth is, it could be for any combination of reasons; from the fact that I was born to a couple of people who always had to be doing something, or the fact that as the youngest of eight kids, I always dreamed of the time when I would be able to simply go where no one was sending me on errands, or my early acknowledgment of how small I was in the grand scheme of things which propelled me to want to experience as much as I could in this big big world. But if I had to summarise for the purpose of answering a simple question that wasn’t meant to be a long conversation, I would simply say my wanderlust came from my inability to be satisfied with monotony. I love variety and just having a bit of dynamism in my everyday life.
It definitely helps that my introverted husband has the same globe-trotting dreams and is happy to go along with my crazy travel adventure ideas, even if his default state is a more chill relaxed luxury thing and sometimes I want to get off the beaten track and get lost in a new city or village. I watch my friend Melanie painstakingly and lovingly convert her recently purchased Mercedes bus into a comfy classy caravan; and I can totally see this man doing something similar. Though I hold a sliver of beef for him for the fact that his country count is 36 to my 34. So as you can imagine, the lockdown period was perfect for me to bring out those plans and dreams, polish them again and tweak the finer details. But how long is too long to plan? Because, I am ready to move now! I was telling someone that once the vaccines are in and the skies are open, I’m going to go crazy. I might even pack my bags and run before I remember my travel companions.
We recently took the school half-term week away and drove to a local resort in the countryside. I needed a change of environment, something close to nature; but the truth is, I came back feeling worse. First of all, I missed my bed (we’ll talk about Dutch hotel beds another day), and I still felt unsatisfied because there was no room service, restaurants were closed and I had to cook but without my favourite kitchen appliances. So yeah it was restful, close to nature, nice for the boys; but mannnn I’m craving a full pamper trip - room service, random quirky restaurants I can walk in to, sleeping on a plane, airport duty free shopping (those scents as you walk through, OMG).... Listen, you guys need to pray with me. Let the virus go! And let the skies open! I need a rain of trips in my short term future! Otherwise, Franklin might be writing the next blog post asking you guys to beg me to come out from the corner of our closet where I rock myself in the fetal position, crying non-stop. Fair warning!
So for now, I will reminisce…. on the long flights from Africa to Asia-Pacific, the honeymoon in Europe, the girls’ trip to London, the Maldivian getaway, the snorkeling in the Caribbean islands, the serene Adriatic sea swims, the rainy miserable Parisian adventure, and then the solo slow easy summer one, the hen night shenanigans on the streets of Amsterdam, the white powdery sand in Zanzibar, the Great Ocean Road drive in Australia, snowball fights at the Swiss Matterhorn, the decadent luxury of the Arab hospitality and the Italian pasta and wine experience. I will prolong these memories as much as I can, and when I’m done regurgitating them, I will try to forge ahead…. And if all else fails, to the closet I go.
So, please send help!!! Share your most memorable travels with me in the comments section. I want to live vicariously through all of your adventures, until I can replicate them!
