overwrought simile

 

maybe new love is a bit like travel. your patterns and ways all get disrupted. you wander down strange streets, surrendering to your feet and where they take you. you see/taste/hear things from a different perspective. the simplest activities become adventures. and scenes that you might consider troublesome if you lived in that country, you see with a curious eye and an open heart. or you might quickly look past/disregard troubling scenes; they are totally inconsequential in comparison to the lush and varied and surprising and amazing surroundings! the warmth of the local people. all that smiling. you might find yourself smiling all the time too. people seem to find you more approachable than they do at home, something about the way you carry yourself: the openness, the smiling, the happiness.

and then when you return home (even unexpectedly), although you loved that other place and how it made you feel, even if you had imagined possibly moving there for a very long time, you are a little relieved too. all that shifting inside and constant sensory overload was also somewhat stressful. you sleep much better at home. and your home looks different now too. you have a new appreciation for certain aspects of it. some forgiveness and some tenderness. but you would like to retain some of the openness/willingness. and when the relief wears off, you will have to try not to think too much about that place that won't become another home. definitely throw out the extra toothbrush, to start.