I got back to Nashville about 6pm yesterday and I fly out this afternoon at 5pm.
23 hours.
It’s not always like this. But sometimes it is. You can tell by my travel/speaking schedule. I kinda have some busier months intentionally- so that months like December and July are a little quieter. But it makes for a head-spinning month here and there.
Last year, it was the same. And sometime in mid-November (of 2012), I kinda had a “MY ROOM IS A WRECK” meltdown. Every time I came home, I just kinda ripped all the clothes and items out of the bag, threw them on the floor, and then repacked. And then if I was home for a few days, I would pretty much just open my suitcase and live out of it until it was time to put clean clothes in it and head out.
My meltdown mainly looked like tears. Per usual.
So I talked with my friend Jeff Pardo– he’s married to Marisa and he’s the band leader for Matthew West, so yeah- you can trust his decision making. Anyways, I tell Jeff of my COMPLETE AND TOTAL MESSY ROOM MELTDOWN, and he asked, “Do you unpack?”
Um…. no? I mean, sorta? I mean, no?
Jeff, who travels a ton more than I do, said you have to unpack. All the way. No matter how long you are home, you unpack everything when you walk in the door, put your suitcase away, and put all your clothes and shoes and toiletries in their right place.
And y’all? It totally changed my life.
Why?
It makes me feel like I’m home when I’m home.
So now it is the first thing I do when I get home from the road. Unpack. All of it. Even the toiletries out of my travel bag, and yes- I will repack them again today. But it is worth the extra work for my peace of mind and sanity.
. . . . .
Someone asked me recently, “what do you do to feel at home when you are on the road so much?” It was an interesting question for me, that I pose to you too.
What do you do to feel at home? When you’ve been on vacation and come back, do you immediately light a candle? Go to the grocery store? Remake your bed?
(Do you have more questions about my weirdo life on the road? Check out other Road Life posts here or ask questions in the comments below and I’ll answer them there or in a future post!)
