Just got back from holiday, need another holiday already...

Getting a day off work is always a cool thing. I always look forward to it anyway...

So, I got to take last Friday off work, and went to see my family in Cork, Ireland. My flight was at 6.25am, and I arrived around 7.30am. The flight was quite uneventful, I did not even read a page of the book I took along (The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, it's a great book, highly recommended) and slept through the whole journey. As soon as I landed, I was picked up and we drove into a neighbouring town, where I had pastry and hot chocolate for breakfast. It was all a bit surreal, as I normally don't have breakfast. The scenery was overwhelming, I have to say. I was surrounded by vast land and all around me I just saw greeeeeeeeeeeen...green grass, green trees, green buildings, green everything, erm, almost and something inside me just 'gave'. I was able to exhale, I was able to let go. We drove around for a few more hours, and then we went home.

As soon as I stepped indoors, I dropped my suitcase on one side, jacket on the other, flung off my trainers and draped myself all over the couch. There was something about that place, the air was sooooooooo different, I felt 'high' and my spirit was lifted within me. As soon as my head it that sofa, I drifted off to sleep. I woke up, took my brace off and threw it over the back of the couch and resettled into a more comfortable sleeping position. I kept drifting in and out of sleep for the rest of the day and that was my Friday. I remember eating at some point, because a plate of food was placed in front of me, not because I had requested for it.

On Saturday, I got up and went to the kitchen for a hot chocolate, and headed straight back to bed. I don't really know what happened between then, and 4.30pm when I was finally woken up by one of my cousins... I slept like I've not slept in ages. It was a total state of rest, I wasn't thinking of anything else, I wasn't even dreaming. I was just sleeping. Normally, when I sleep, I always have at the back of my mind, a running commentary of all the tasks I've left unfulfilled and the things I need to get sorted as soon as I get up the next day. None of that this time around. I just S L E P T. It was such a wonderful experience. No phones ringing, no e-mails to respond to urgently, no tasks left undone, nothing to disrupt my sleep. Mind you, it was a conscious choice not to be reachable, not a for of access to all the 'joys' of modern technology.

On Sunday, we went to Church and one thing led to another we didn't get back home till 4.30pm. We had a festive dinner, and I had to pack my bags again. It was really a truly beautiful holiday, a wonderful break. I landed in Stansted airport, and there were about 4 other flights landing at the same time. This led to an unimagined delay in getting from the airplane to the baggage area. Luckily, I was travelling light, so I walked straight out to the coach stand. The coach was just ready to depart, and I found an ideal seat, and switched my phones back on -holiday over!- I had too many missed calls to mention, and a few text messages to respond to. Already, I felt the tension welling up inside me....

Woke up early today, did my daily devotion and left home early to get to work early. From the moment I walked in, till the minute I left, the phones were ringing off the hook -work, mobiles, - ah, the joy of being reachable at the pressing of a few buttons. It is well, I am at peace. I am too blessed to be stressed, and of course, the next holiday is in the pipeline......