In the last few days, I have felt restless, and I think it’s because I know I have to return to London soon, which brings its own set of requirements and obligations. I’m not looking forward to the bad weather, but I am looking forward to a rainy lazy Sunday afternoon. I have a full weekend planned since one of my friends from London is coming in for a quick getaway. It will be nice to have someone around for a few days, and have some new experiences!
As I prepare for their arrival, I look around and realize how messy I have been in the past month. When in London, my place is small and rather packed, so I try to clean as I go, or it becomes overwhelming. In Athens, our apartment is much larger, with less furniture, so it was easy to make a mess and not be bothered. Now that I will be entertaining someone, I notice it all!
This morning I have instantly gone into cleaning mode with mopping, dusting, organizing, packing, and laundry. I don’t think people appreciate their automatic washers and dryers as much as they should. After a few rounds of washing sheets by hand, I know I have much more appreciation for them. The whole experience of preparing for guests brings a parallel to the topic of self-care and how sometimes we polish up well on the outside to be perceived in a certain way, when internally, we need some work. This apartment, like myself, needs some work, inside and out.
With it being a vacation home, we don’t invest as much into it as we probably should. As the days go by, I begin planning how to improve how we furnished it, the wall decor, even the kitchen tableware, and utensils. It feels like a place to call home, and I’d like to invest in for the future. It’s always a tricky balance for how much to invest in a place you don’t spend much time in now, even if you know you will spend more time in the future. It’s also a shared space so I can’t decorate or change things the way I naturally would, I have to get a consensus with my family, which can be challenging. Hopefully, we can decide on things little by little and make some changes this year.
