How does it feel?

People on both sides of the "pond" (and even random strangers for that matter) keep asking me things like, "Are you happy to be back," and "how does it feel to be back?" Well, I really don't know how to respond to this because it feels, well, weird! I mean, I am enjoying reconnecting with people that I haven't seen in a while but I also miss my friends in Dublin and we aren't settled here yet.

Actually, to be honest, I feel drained. I am really enjoying this time off work. I am doing a bit of house related stuff every day but just vegging as well. I know that I need that. There is a part of me that doesn't want to start work next week. I could use some more time off. Yet, I am bored, too. Not really sure how that works and I need to get back to work and get into a routine so that I can feel more "normal."

The other main piece of it feeling weird to be back is that our place doesn't feel like "home." I feel like I am in someone else's house because we don't have many things yet (like pictures on the walls). We are still setting up. I am sure that soon it will feel like home. I'm curious to see how long it takes for this house to feel like "home" because it is easily at least twice the size of anywhere that we have lived before (and about 3 times the size of our apartment in Dublin). It is in a nice neighborhood but it is suburban. We are off a main road but there aren't shops or restaurants within walking distance. At least the train is within VERY easy distance and they have made this one more frequent so it is pretty easy to get places via public transport.

The other reason that it feels strange is because we haven't seen our friends that much. Since we aren't leaving in a week, we have time to reconnect and see people when they are free and aren't on this manic "must see people" schedule. That meant that during my first week back, I only saw people a couple times. It was great to reconnect with them but lonely at night when I was sitting in this empty house eating on the stairs because we didn't have any furniture yet. (Don't worry, it wasn't that lonely and I was too tired to socialize much anyway).