I thought it would suck going straight back to work the morning after flying back from London, but after a few days of wandering around a strange city with an open agenda, it’s remarkably comforting to return to the contours your own life. As a non-resident demi-tourist (in the sense that I didn’t do much of the obviously touristy things like visit the palaces or go Madame Tussaud’s or stare at Big Ben), it was hard to find a place in the rhythm of the city, whereas the morning commute Tuesday morning here at home was as simple as sliding down a chute, if not as fun. I drove along Lincoln and Cicero and Touhy thinking, look at my country! O condos and motels and hulking electronics stores! Then I was back in it.
When our flight came in on Monday night, the little TV in the cab from O’Hare flashed the headline that Kate Middleton was pregnant, and I wondered how on earth I could’ve missed THAT news on my last day in London. And so my usual end-of-vacation remorse was infused with bonus regret that in all my scurrying around in the drizzling rain between Tube stops Monday morning, I totally neglected to spot the screaming 72-point newspaper headlines bearing this Monumental English News, or notice all the people on street corners waving around Union Jack onesies in triumph, or overhear one of the Cockney chimney sweeps from Mary Poppins saying, “Wot? The Duchess is up the duff?” and thus I had utterly failed in my quest to experience London with open eyes. But then my cousin told me that the Kate news broke late afternoon, just as my plane was taking off, so I felt vindicated. Plus a little peeved that the British Airways captain didn’t announce the pregnancy along with the fasten-seat-belts bit. Safety, schmafety!
I’m not sure whether I can blame jetlag for the fact that I went to bed at 8:30 last night, since I wasn’t in the UK for very long. But the last couple of days haven’t quite felt like full days (much less Holidailydaysies). I go to work and come home and then an avalanche of sleep falls on top of me and I dig myself out at around 5 am the next day. Hopefully this will stop soon.
I leave you with this photo of some guy rocking out in the Tube. I’m pretty sure he had no idea about Kate Middleton either.
