I'll be "Home" for Christmas

Last month, I was aboard my fourth flight of the year to Singers -- and it was my tenth international long-haul of 2019. Considering how often I'd been finding myself "up in the air" lately, I was deeply reflective upon the idea of home is where the heart is. Can you blame me? Where was my heart these days anyway?

It's no surprise that I then found it heart-wrenching to walk into Singapore's Changi airport, only to be greeted by this new sculpture featured near immigration. Its title? "Coming Home."

En route back to Sydney this weekend - having just completed my fifth and final trip to Singapore -- I am more conscious than EVER that the idea of home is fleeting; fluid. After taking ten+ long-haul flights this year between Oz, New Zealand, Cali, India, Japan and Singapore, lately I worry that I don't even know what home means anymore. Am I forgetting what it feels like? I realize that I'm not only feeling disconnected from home but even from my fam (who I was just with), my friends Down Under, my routine and my own well-being. I've been away too often to feel grounded but not home enough to feel a part of my own family.

I read a quote recently that I pulled out of my Daily Dose box. It said that "every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home." Could this be it? Do I have it in me to find a sense of home while still in motion?

A few weeks after these feelings emerged, I started realizing that there are a few things that feel like home wherever I am. They're not all easy to find, some are abstract. But they are the things that remind me of who I am.

Being outside
Being underwater
Running the world
Hearing my songs
Chatting with the fam
Seeing the ocean
Remembering Gramz
Taking a bubble bath
The smell of Sleepy
Writing down my feelings
Opening a paperback
Singing in the shower
Making a connection
Smiling at a stranger
Breathing myself to sleep
Taking a mindful moment
Hearing from a friend =)
Watching one of my favorite movies
Having a smoothie for breakfast that I made myself! 
Cuddling a pet 
​Cuddling a person 
Sending a postcard 
Reading my favorite writers (like Steph, Liz Gilbert and JK Rowling)
Saying thank you! especially in writing 
Watching Moana 
​Talking with C
Cooking something new 
Walking into work
Taking a ferry ride with my AirPods 
Group FaceTime with all 15 of us (including boys and pets) 

The list goes on. The important part is that I've begun identifying the things, the rituals that I need to prioritize to be my most authentic self. As candid moments show, these are the things that bring me to life! Some of them are pillars of well-being; some align to my core values. Some are basic hobbies and some are objects of my obsession -- "Sleepy" scent from Lush included. 

For now, I'll keep building out the list and filling my days with intention. 

XOXO, 

​Abroad Down Under