No Place Like Your Own Bed

We are home! I am still acclimating to our time, waking at 3:00 in the morning, thinking it is time to get up for the day. Five weeks of being five to six hours ahead take a while to overcome. But it was a blast! To travel internationally again was such a joy. Still, as the days in June swept by, the beaches and museums of Europe got increasingly fuller, to the point that we were ready to come home. Before the pandemic, we always traveled in late April or early May, and we will do so again because I don’t deal well with walls of people standing shoulder to shoulder in the heat.

Another aspect of our lives that we missed was going to church. We did not find a church in Porto. But, by attempting to see everything and experience lots of time with family, especially grandkids, we found that we were seldom alone. So, I took “Regina” days, which were times to sit on the beach and read on the Kindle as I watched the ships sailing into and out of the port near our apartment.

Celebrity Silhouette leaving Porto

I preferred an almost empty beach to see the water’s beauty and allow the moment to touch my soul. I will post more pictures as soon as I figure out how to transfer my photos onto my computer. There is something deeply spiritual about the oceans for me. In the Bible, we are told that the waters existed before the world was made, and that the Spirit of God hovered above the waters. I find such peace there, and I miss seeing the ocean daily.

But, after living in five different Airbnb’s for the trip, one for three weeks in Porto and five flights, I am glad to sleep in my own bed, shower in a large space, and have air conditioning (another reason to go in May). It is good also to be on solid ground. There really is no place like one’s own home. I am grateful to God for journeying mercies and for feeling His presence when Douglas and I got sick and needed to communicate with people who didn’t always speak English. Thankfully, hand gestures are significantly the same across cultures. I am looking forward to blogging more now that I feel better. I will say that coming home to constant air quality alerts for someone who uses Flonase every day almost made me want to return to the treeless beach. But not quite! Viva Home!