Homeward

Well, this is a bittersweet entry to write.
I'm starting the trek back home tomorrow. Heading to Auckland on the Northern Explorer train to Auckland and the airport.
I'll get to meet up with a good friend in Auckland, and get to spend my last day or so with him and the good people he has as friends by the beach. So it's almost full circle, and an apt way to end this time in NZ.
Wellington has decided that I need to get used to the weather back home, and although she can't give me the cold that the UK has at the moment, she's giving me as much rain as she can.
It has given me the incentive to get on with packing though, and one lesson I've truly learnt is that unless you need kit for a specific purpose, and are guaranteed to do be doing that thing... Don't pack it.
Just don't.
I've realised that had I not packed some kit that I've bought over I could have made the trip with one backpack. Still, like I said, lesson learnt.

It's going to be odd getting back home, and really sad to be saying goodbye to my mate down here in Wellington. After not seeing each other for nigh on fifteen years, it was superb to be able to pick up as if we'd seen each other only the week before.
I guess that's what friendship's about at the end of the day.
We've had time to catch up, time to hit the road, and time to just kick back.
We've had some superb times and laughs, and some very difficult times, but I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.
I've met, and been introduced to some wonderful folks while i've been here, and have felt welcomed into the community where i've been based.
I couldn't give enough thanks to everyone for their warmth and hospitality.
There's going to be a lot i'm going to miss.

There's still a fair chunk of the country I have yet to see, but as I alluded to previously, situations got in the way. This time.
I'll be back at some point to finish this trip, that's for sure.

So it's time to move on, get back to the real world, get back into 'work' mode, and save some funds to head off again.
As a good man said to me not long after I arrived here, 'love your adventurous heart', and I know I'll need to hit the road again.

Home sweet home... soon.

Soon I will be heading home.

I’ve now had time to travel, to unwind, and to see more about myself than I could whilst I was wrapped up in the mire that was my day to day.

So I’m heading home. Where is it?

What is it?

What is home?

Fuck, I’m not an expert by any means, but….

Are far as I can tell from what I’ve experienced, it’s not the bricks and mortar, it’s the warmth that you feel when you are amongst your own, your friends, your family.

Home is anywhere and it’s everywhere.

It’s wherever you are among the people that matter to you. The people that don’t judge you.

The people that know you, and love you, because of, and despite of, who you are.

So I’m heading home. Home to those who matter, but with a heavy heart, away from others that also do, but my home will always be with all of them.

I hope for them it will also always be so, with me.

There is a big world out there, and I know with a smile that there are many homes out there and many friends.

I’ve learnt that I shouldn’t feel let down when my expectations of friendship are not achieved. Everyone has his or her own needs and wants. If they haven’t matched mine, then who am I to say that’s wrong?

How many times have I let people down despite not knowing what they expected? Who knows? Nobody can read the mind of others.

As the song says, my heart is like an open book, for the whole world to read.

There will always be those that can’t read between the lines, who just don’t get me, but I shall not miss them. It’s not for me to blame them either; all I can do is be me, and the best me I can. For there will always be those who can read between the lines of what makes me, and with them, I will always be home.