Coming down off Cloud 99 is a somewhat bitter sweet experience. I think everyone has experienced the short, sharp slap of reality as you loose the sense of euphoria that you have enjoyed being caught up in the whirlwind of being in a new place, meeting new people, thriving on new experiences. The acute sense of normalcy is kind of difficult to take, the monotony of boredom is suddenly very real once more and you cannot help but reflect back on how while you were away every nano second seemed to be filled with some kind of hyperactivity.

It is the same for any one of us when you return home from a period in your life that prior to its existence you have enthused about, prepared for, allowed the sense of excitement quietly build as your taste buds salivate at the possibilities that lie before you. Yes then it is on you, that moment in your life when you are living the dream, you've escaped the pressures of regular daily life, and can for a fleeting moment leave behind the things that worry your mind and stress your life.

So you are way from it all in this brief period of anonymity, and I think that is an important part of the freedom that we feel when we are away from home. No one know's us, we are away from the expectations of life at home, we can momentarily put the worries and concerns of our lives away and enjoy being free to enjoy these experiences and feelings as we partake in this exciting new adventure.

But the reality is that the adventure never lasts, and the blues will follow the natural high that you have coasted on while enjoying this significantly small period of your life, yet just as significantly special time in your life.

That for me is the feeling that I focus on right now. Yeah it is rather sobering to come back down to normal, of course it is hard not to feel blue, but for a brief moment I made memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life, and met friends that I know will be people I respect and admire for years to come. Plus I have some pretty great people around me to come home to, so while it is easy to feel blue that I am no longer away from home, I am grateful to be back with people I love and who I know love me.

So yeah, it is ok to feel a little forlorn on a return to normalcy after a period of high excitement, infact if I didn't feel a little weird I would worry I was not normal. These are the adjustments that we make every single day in life. Learning to cope with the wild roller coaster of ups and downs that life throws in our direction. I have a theory, if you can't experience the pain of disappointment then you can never enjoy the thrill of fulfilment. Every day I wake, I have to learn something new about being human, and every night when I lay my head on the pillow to sleep and am grateful for the people I love and the friends who carry me on. There really isn't very much more I need in life to be happy, and this is the conclusion I draw from taking time out to think about the things I've been through in the last two weeks of living.

Thought for today - "Whether we are prepared or not, life has a habit of thrusting situations upon us." - Lucille Ball

Song for today - Winner by Pet Shop Boys