Waking From a Dream

On the morning of the September 15, I’m going to wake up in a familiar bed in a familiar room, and it will all feel like a dream. Everything’s going to be right where I left it. February 3 and September 15 are going to feel like consecutive days, and everything that will have happened in between them, it’s all going to feel like a dream. Everyone I met, everything that was my normal life here, this life of planes, trains, and automobiles, of museums and monuments, it’ll all be a dream. I’ll be Dorothy and I’ll be back in Kansas.

This fact has been hitting me the past few days. I finished planning everything through to September 15. Ever since I did that, it’s really starting to hit home that the end is near. I’m thinking more and more about what I want to do next. Granted, I still may well go travel a bit more after all my friends’ weddings and be home for Christmas. But still, the end is near.

On one hand, I’m ready – it sounds really nice to sleep in my own bed and cook my own meals, and not have to worry about other people snoring in my room.  And to be honest, I am getting a bit sick of sightseeing and museums. And of course, I’m looking forward to seeing my friends and family. But on the other hand, I really do love this. I love meeting people from all over the place. Breakfast with the guys from France, lunch with the girl from Argentina. Going to a party in England with the English guys and the girl from Spain and the girl from Germany. Hanging in Venice with the girl from Mexico, or going to the park in Munich with the guy from Canada. These are all real events and people and there are many more. And of course all my new friends all throughout Italy.

Going back to work at a job – how could it ever compare to this? How can I go to a cubicle after this? I don’t know. Obviously work is necessary and good. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t work for the past five years, but it shouldn’t be the only thing we do in our lives. I know that in my future there has to be some way for me to travel like this from time to time. I can’t say goodbye to this forever and two weeks paid vacation just isn’t enough. I’ll figure something out.

One last thing, let’s see how I measured up. Here’s a map I made in January as a rough outline of where I wanted to travel.

And this is the final version of where I will have gone once September 15 rolls around. It’s hard to understand because there’s some overlap, especially in Italy, but you can just ask me.

Not half bad.

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