500 days on the road. 5 days to go.

I am a little nervous. Excited. It actually almost feels as if I am on the brink of a new adventure. In five days, after almost 17 months, I will be home, and I have no idea how it will feel.

I have read a lot about how other people coped with returning home after a long journey. Most say that the first few days are great as you continue to bask in the experiences of your journey in your familiar, safe surroundings. You have more time and fewer distractions to process everything and take joy in it as you browse through your diary and photos and work on a presentation or book.

But the euphoria does abate in time. The great challenge appears to be making the transition happen slowly; gradually getting used to the fact that you are not somewhere different every day. Accepting that many days will…