re-entry déja vu all over again

Have I mentioned Alvin Toffler before?  I think so, but quite a while ago, not  during the cruise. I relied on Toffler's advice in my book tour days.  In his best-selling book, Future Shock (1970) he said that the best way to keep your cool while you are travelling ("too much change in too little time")  is to try to recreate as much as you can of your familiar routine. Then, as you encounter new situations, you still know who are are. (The question is, who are you?) So, according to that, I stick to my 6 a.m. swim, to my early tea and journalling, and more recently, a morning BLOG. That's the hard part, It's new to me, even after almost two years.  I haven't settled on the right time for it yet, witness now, after a busy, tiring day, I am writing this, albeit reluctantly. So here I am at home, trying to pick up the pieces, also the laundry, the mail, groceries and wine (yes!), and go on as if I'd never left.  But I did leave. And I came back.  I've changed - the winter duvet for the summer duvet and the flannelette sheets for lightweight.  

More than that.  I have more thoughts.  To come. If anyone chooses to stay with me, I will still be here.

summary

I wrote this as a summary of the trip for the farewell gathering of the World Travellers - the 140 odd (I'll say!) people who were on the half-round voyage from March 22/Singapore to July8/Miami. I'm clearing the computer, slowly, and I thought this might be the best place to stash this:

"Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that no matter where you go you take you with you.  Well, that depends. If you go on Oceania, you change – usually for the better. You make new discoveries, you make new friends, but if you’re not careful, you gain weight.  You hear people speaking of their travels in terms of what they’ve “done”. They’ve done the Panama Canal (several times, apparently!); they’ve done Africa; they’ve done Ceylon, Ayres Rock and Bombay - or whatever they’re called now.  But what have their travels done to them?  Did they gain insights they never had before? Did they learn more about other people as well as about themselves?  I hope so.  Sail along with me, the best is yet to be."

Since then, since I returned three days ago now, the world is getting thicker and time is getting thinner, and money is getting stickier.  

And I have miles to go  before I sleep.  (More on that.)