Coming Home

It’s been nearly six months and I’m finally coming home. On April 8th I will depart Seattle return to New Hampshire for the foreseeable future. I’ve come home in before of course, for holidays, meetings, and every other weekend, but the travel is tiring and being away from family is taking its toll. While it has been challenging, I’m happy to report that the important things are intact – I’m still married, my children still know who I am, and I still have a job. Sally and the boys have done pretty well without me and we’ve had high quality time when I was at home. I’m excited to make that quality time permanent again.

I’ve learned a lot since November. In addition to being away from home it’s been challenging trying to figure out what to do with myself. First world problems, right? But seriously, I didn’t know what to do with all of the new free time. Without the boys and Sally around it was just empty. When I felt lonely or missed home the free time just made it worse. It took me a while but I finally got into a groove and found things to do. I caught up on Netflix and started watching House of Cards. I rented a car and took a couple of trips to the Queen Mary. I went to Disneyland. When I started staying in Seattle I got back into photography and started shooting photos, editing, and writing again. I also tried to go to the gym more since I’ve got nothing better to do. It took longer than I wanted but I finally got into a routine.

I was lucky that I didn’t end up staying away for too long at one time. I went home every other weekend, for holidays, and for meetings. In the end I never stayed away for more than two consecutive weeks; every time I’d have at least a 2 day weekend back home. I’d get anxious during the second week and a weekend isn’t nearly enough time, but the visits were helpful. When I had meetings in Boston I’d stay the entire week, which gave me time to recharge. Every visit home felt like quality time. They were a nice mix of family time, activities, and catch-up.

I’ve learned a lot at work both technically and personally. I’ve been working on native iOS apps, something I haven’t done in years. It’s been challenging but rewarding to catch up on it. I’ve learned how to handle new situations that I haven’t been in before. It’s very different from the way that I usually do things and it has helped me grow. I have plenty of things to bring back to the mothership with me.

It sounded scary six months ago but we all made it through. Everybody is OK and we have a greater appreciation for each other. I’m excited to get home and get back to normal. Friday can’t come soon enough!