My husband and I have moved once or twice.
A year.
For the past ten years.
At our core, we are routine-loving homebodies. We dream about the day when we can settle into a house and paint the walls, maybe even build a treehouse. But that isn't our lifestyle right now. So we had to train ourselves to embrace transition.
Life abroad is full of change, and I think most expats go through more than their fair share of transition.
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ABOUT
Transitionitis is a very common ailment affecting hundreds of travelers each year. It is caused by the change in routine brought on by transition, and anxieties (often underlying) relating to the unknowns of the new location and losses associated with leaving the current location.
SYMPTOMS
Wildly turbulent emotions
Unexplained tearfulness
Inability to sleep due to thoughts running away
Exhaustion and increased need to sleep
Upset stomach
Loss of appetite
Comfort eating
Mushy brain
Inability to think straight
Unexplained, unusual aches and pains due to emotional tension stored in the body.
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I don't want to go back.There. It's out now. Free for all of the web-a-world to see. I've been afraid to say it out loud; fearful that admitting it will make me weak, wrong or make it more true.When we sold almost everything seven years ago and moved 10,000 miles away, it was easier. The adventure was before me. What's that old saying? Ignorance is bliss.I had yet to get that call that my grandmother suddenly died in her kitchen, alone. I hadn't missed my brother's medical school graduation. I hadn't missed holding my new nieces and kissing their soft little cheeks. I hadn't missed birthdays, Thanksgivings and Saturday morning cups of coffee with friends.The internet is a beautiful thing. It helps me to stay connected. But it can feel artificial. I'm always watching life of my loved ones unfold on a screen while I am oceans away.I don't long for the perpetual heat. And the people questioning my every move, watching my children like hawks and taking picture of us like they are the paparazzi and we are the Jolie-Pitt clan.
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