“It is when we are in transitions that we are most completely alive.” William Bridges.

We have been back from our travels for six months. Yes, you heard that right. SIX MONTHS. Cannot quite believe it. Time is fickle. Some days it feels like it was only yesterday I was extracting a screaming toddler from a Vietnamese night train; body-boarding with my son in the warm waters of Costa Rica. On other days, it feels like it was all a dream.

Many long-term travellers experience a honeymoon period when they first come home. We were no different. But once the joyful family and friend reunions start to dry up and the questions about the trip cease, the silence can be deafening. Fellow travelling family Crayons and Carry-Ons recently wrote a blog post about coming home and it prompted me to share our experience too.

Let’s just say the transition back to London life has been a journey, one we are still on. When the plane wheels hit the tarmac, it’s less about slotting neatly back into your old life and more about trying to carve out a new hole with a blunt knife. You may feel like a square peg in a round hole for a while. There is nothing neat about coming back. It’s messy, gritty and uncomfortable. Long-term travel awakens all sorts inside you and it takes a bit of time to work through all those feelings before returning to an even keel.

Ten tips to manage transition after long-term travel

For any of you wondering what it feels like coming back after such a long time away, or for those soon to head home after long-term travel, here are ten lessons I have learnt over the last six months. I hope it is useful. These are based on our own experience of coming back and although no two experiences are the same, I am sure you will find some nuggets in here to help you on your transition journey.

1. Things might get worse before they get better: after the initial honeymoon period, things might get a bit tough. When you have done something as crazy and extraordinary as travelling the world for ten months, life back home can feel unnerving. There is nothing like full-time family travel to ground you firmly in the moment. It is only ever about the present and the near future when you are on the road with kids. When you get back home, you might be throwing yourself into a whole new career (that’s me!), you may well be trying to keep motivated in your old job, all the while not forgetting to keep a close eye on how the kids are handling things. Worry can start to creep in. Give yourself a break, try not to rush, there is lots to deal with when you get back. Surround yourself with people who will listen, who will remind you of your amazing endeavour. Transitions are a journey in their own right.

2. Get help if you need it. If things get a bit much and you are struggling to adapt, don’t hesitate to ask for help. I ended up self-referring myself for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) a few months after I got back. I was really struggling with my negative thought patterns (why are we struggling so much? Have I screwed up the kids with this trip? Will I ever launch my business?) and needed a bit of help managing my worrying tendencies. It was a practical, six-week, self-help course with a therapist (face-to-face then on the phone) and one of the best post trip decisions I have made. Screw the stigma, get help if you need it.

3. Find ways to celebrate your trip. Once you have bored your friends and family to death about your trip, you could start sharing it further afield. Writing is a great way to make sense of your trip and share it beyond you inner circle. I spent some time sharing our travel knowledge and inspiration for other websites (Seatkickers and Clementine to name a few) and I was interviewed for a few podcasts ( 87% and Travel Loving Mums). Your own blog and social media channels are also great ways to keep your trip alive - you will have accumulated enough memories to last a lifetime! At home we bring up our travels as much as we can. This can be through quick fire quizzes about the countries we visited, guessing where a particular funny (funny in hindsight!) event happened or just reminiscing over our photos. Do make an effort and print out some of your favourite pictures. It is so easy to leave them gathering digital dust on your hard drive.

4. Don’t jump into anything new too soon. I made the mistake of thinking I would have my new multi-hyphen career up and running as quick as it would take to unpack my suitcase. That didn’t happen. I had doubts, my confidence took a knock, as I realised that it is only with time, thought, renewed focus and hard work that I will create my next career chapter. It takes a while to truly wriggle free of corporate life, even after a ten month career break. The consistency of pay, regular appraisal and pats on the back, teams to lift you and bounce ideas off are not easy to let go of. Making the decision to step off the corporate ladder with confidence is one thing, making a sustainable, meaningful living out of your true passion doesn’t happen over night. Join a freelance community, attend events, get a business coach. Keep going!

5. Open dialogue with your childcare provider. Kids will surprise you. I was more worried about my spirited daughter starting her first year of primary school than about my son who was entering his final year. I had warned the school about my daughter’s sensory quirks and her spirited temperament before we arrived back in London. In the end, she was absolutely fine. While my focus was on one child’s transition, my son was struggling and needed more support settling back in. After months of loose schedules and thrilling experiences, sitting still on the carpet learning about prepositions wasn’t easy to get used to. Keep channels of communication open with the school. Chances are they haven’t dealt with this scenario before so work through practical solutions together.

6. Be kind to yourself and others. By others here, I mean to your partner and kids. Everyone deals with transitions differently. Some will need more time than others. Accept the emotions; don’t try to rush through them too fast. Remind everyone, including yourself, that it is okay to feel a bit lost for a while. Long-term travel changes you. And while, as parents, you have more control over your post travel life, for kids they need to slot back in quickly to a rigid routine fairly quickly and they might struggle.

7. Make space for your relationship. Travelling with kids for long periods of time takes its toll on your relationship. Unless you had some help along the way or had the budget for regular kids’ clubs you might not even remember what it is like to be alone with your other half. Now you are back at home, it is a good idea to plan some time away (an evening, an afternoon or even better a whole weekend). Alternatively, if you can work flexibly, why not work from home the same day and make up some lost one-to-one time. Invest time in your relationship.

8. Get stuck into a new house project We put quite a few house projects on hold for a few years as we saved for our trip. It is quite satisfying to start on a small house project now that we are back. I received some tax-back money at the end of last year, so we have a small budget to refurbish our family bathroom. It is a great family talking point and pulling up the smelly grey bathroom carpet (I know.. who has carpet in their bathroom?) is definitely something to look forward to in our household. Living out of a suitcase for so long has given us all a renewed sense of pride in our house. Cherish it, invest in it even if you only have a small budget.

Grace during our recent break to Sweden.

9. Plan your next getaway. If travelling with kids hasn’t put you off holidays for life, getting another holiday in the diary can be a great way to shake of those post travel blues. Some of the families we made friends with along the way are already planning a second big trip. Budgets might be tight so that option might not be for everyone. You can always stay closer to home and plan a camping weekend or a city-break. Visiting friends and family is another cost-effective way of travelling as you can forfeit the accommodation costs. We recently visited our friends in Sweden for a few days. They were more than happy to put us up for a few nights and we covered flight costs and split food costs. Small trips with the kiddos will feel like a piece of cake after family gap year!

10. Buy a puppy. This is optional of course! But working well for us. We love animals and had pets as kids. We befriended lots of furry friends throughout our trip and decided after quite a bit of thought to take the plunge. There is nothing like a puppy to keep everyone’s mind firmly in the present - which is what we need right now. I am calling it fluffy mindfulness. It has been great for the kids, not so much for our slippers…

If you have other thoughts on coming home after a break away (travel or other) please share in the comments below would love to hear from you!

My upcoming travel course How to travel the world with kids covers all the aspects travel operators won’t tell you, including how to prepare you for your transition back home. You will not want to plan your trip without it. Click here for more information. Discount rate of £55 for the first ten sign-ups.

Puppies are fluffy mindfulness - Alexandra Palace Park, London, UK.