The other side of transitionitis

Driving home on Tokyo's expressways late on a 
Sunday night is a pretty pleasant experience. I'm
just glad I was a passenger, I was too tired to drive!

I'm on the other side! 

If you're wondering how the rest of our trip went, it was relatively smooth. Our hostess in Brisbane actually drove us to our airport-adjacent hotel (over an hour and a half), and we stayed there on Saturday night. It was a blessed time in the "airlock" between countries and on Sunday morning we experienced the easiest transfer to an international airport we've ever had: walking 50m to the terminal. We spent twice as long as we'd expected in that airport. The usual story we're hearing from airlines these days: various baggage handling and other difficulties that delayed our takeoff nearly three hours. But it wasn't our problem. We had two jobs: to wait patiently and mind our own needs. 

We eventually took off on our 8+ hr flight and arrived about 10pm. Moving through health-app checks, immigration, collecting baggage, and customs didn't take very long and we soon were greeted by David who switched our SIM cards (yes, this is part of our international travel these days) and drove us home. I collapsed into my own bed at 12.50 am.

Our trip to Australia was a much thought about, much discussed event for months leading up to it. Most of our time wasn't recreational, though it wasn't madly rushing around working either. It was a complicated trip, with messy goals and lots of things about it were unclear, even to us. So I'm really glad to be past that now.

Now I'm on the other side (of transitionitis) my sleep is settling down, my digestion (and pooping) is improving, my concentration and emotions are also settling. I'm guessing that I'm no longer running on a high level of alertness and adrenaline and that's where some of my fatigue is coming from. I'm hoping my stamina and health in general is improving. While I was away from Japan, I've had two viral infections (including COVID), one fungal infection, and one bacterial. At times it's been a battle to stay positive despite the illness and disruption to routines. 

On Monday, less than 24 hours after I arrived back in Tokyo, David and I took a short walk after dinner. It was shortened both by the onset of rain and my lack of lung capacity. Yes, I still am battling a respiratory infection and the asthma that goes with it. While we were walking, though, we pondered how difficult it had been to get exercise while we were away. We had little routine, we changed locations a number of times and had different interpersonal obligations with some of our time. It's lovely to be getting back to usual routines and a more healthy lifestyle.

On Tuesday David took some time off to drive us to the immigration office an hour south of here to pick up our new visas and resident cards. We wondered if that was the right thing, but it turned out I really needed his support. I was exhausted and sick and simply didn't have the energy to much more than being a passenger.

Since then I've gradually been increasing my hours working at my desk, and gradually taking on more household management tasks. But I'm still planning to "lie low" until at least Monday, giving my body maximum opportunity to recover.

This has been a big undertaking, not a fun "holiday jaunt". I'm feeling hopeful that in the long-term this has been a worthwhile exercise; a fruitful time in which we used our limited resources as well as we could manage. It will be interesting to look back at it all in a couple of years; hopefully we'll be able to see many more of the positive, intangible things that have been achieved.

An international friend and I have been reminding one another all year about our God who "goes before us" (Deut. 31:8). That's really been the theme for the year. Continuing to trust him in the midst of the stress, anxiety, and uncertainty is both my daily challenge and my testimony as I walk each day by faith.