I will never forget the feeling of driving away from Camp Olympia in the backseat of my parents' car year after year. The pit in my stomach presented itself the second we drove out of the gates and hung around for a while. The realization that it was going to be a full year before I was there again and the realization that I had to go home without my amazing camp friends were sometimes almost too much to bear for my adolescent self. I would walk around almost like a zombie the first few days back home, numb, just not sure what to do with myself. Sure enough though it was never long before regular life got going again - the longing in my heart to be back there would go from insatiable to a more manageable presence that never fully went away.
My nieces have all experienced something similar, even after their first year at age eight. Kate's hangover started before closing day lunch was even over her first year and I had to take her on a walk (she was little enough that I still carried her on that walk) where we both cried. I 100% understood how she was feeling. This year, six years later, I talked to her on the phone when they were on the road home and she again was in full on hangover mode - no tears this time, but just said she was sad. Again, I completely understood and knew not to pry any more.
Why am I saying all of this? Because I have my first camp hangover in years right now and it doesn't seem to hurt any less now than it did then. I put my sister and nieces on a train at Oslo central station yesterday morning where they went to the airport to fly on to a beach vacation in Florida. I walked back to my hotel room, went to a work meeting later in the day and then fly home to Helsinki. We had a crazy whirlwind five days that were over way too fast. When I walked away from the train I tried to not think about what was happening and did a fairly good job of distracting myself. When I walked into my empty apartment I had a work call to make and some unpacking to do so again somewhat distracted myself. This morning, though, there were no more distractions. Just a weekend with no one to spend it with.
I'm eagerly awaiting the end of this hangover as well but am keenly aware it might not go away as quickly as the previous ones. Realizing it will be a year before they come back over here sucks. That guest room I insisted on having and worked so hard to make right doesn't have any planned occupants for months. The reality of being across the world is setting in. The good thing is I have about six uninterrupted weeks to finally start to establish my life here. A friend/co-worker is coming for a work trip in two weeks and I am really looking forward to that. Then at the end of August I go home and to Peru. So really - it isn't that long and it will be okay. After I come back it will only be 2.5-3 months before it is time to come home for Christmas - and I would hope to God I have a friend or two by then!
My nieces have all experienced something similar, even after their first year at age eight. Kate's hangover started before closing day lunch was even over her first year and I had to take her on a walk (she was little enough that I still carried her on that walk) where we both cried. I 100% understood how she was feeling. This year, six years later, I talked to her on the phone when they were on the road home and she again was in full on hangover mode - no tears this time, but just said she was sad. Again, I completely understood and knew not to pry any more.
Why am I saying all of this? Because I have my first camp hangover in years right now and it doesn't seem to hurt any less now than it did then. I put my sister and nieces on a train at Oslo central station yesterday morning where they went to the airport to fly on to a beach vacation in Florida. I walked back to my hotel room, went to a work meeting later in the day and then fly home to Helsinki. We had a crazy whirlwind five days that were over way too fast. When I walked away from the train I tried to not think about what was happening and did a fairly good job of distracting myself. When I walked into my empty apartment I had a work call to make and some unpacking to do so again somewhat distracted myself. This morning, though, there were no more distractions. Just a weekend with no one to spend it with.
I'm eagerly awaiting the end of this hangover as well but am keenly aware it might not go away as quickly as the previous ones. Realizing it will be a year before they come back over here sucks. That guest room I insisted on having and worked so hard to make right doesn't have any planned occupants for months. The reality of being across the world is setting in. The good thing is I have about six uninterrupted weeks to finally start to establish my life here. A friend/co-worker is coming for a work trip in two weeks and I am really looking forward to that. Then at the end of August I go home and to Peru. So really - it isn't that long and it will be okay. After I come back it will only be 2.5-3 months before it is time to come home for Christmas - and I would hope to God I have a friend or two by then!
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