The post-vacation reentry is hell. You know the feeling after being away, you are relaxed and feel refreshed and believe that you are ready to return to your normal life and responsibilities. Goals are set and plans ready to be implemented and …. then all you want to do is return to vacation-mode.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my life. All of it. My family, my friends, my job. But when I haven’t been shouldering the full weight of my responsibilities, it can feel daunting to jump back in.
Our flight back home from Florence was relaxing. We watched movies, ate and dozed. The hours passed by and suddenly we were landing. We had only taken carry-on luggage so going through passport control and customs was easy and we found ourselves on the curb waiting to be picked up.
Something had happened at the airport and no one could come into the property, so we had to walk out to the highway next to the airport and using our cell phones we coordinated a pickup. We jumped into the car and figured out a way to get out of that mess. Nick was anxious and upset because he couldn’t understand why everything wasn’t normal with picking us up at the airport.
He was fine for the caregivers when we were gone on our trip, however just like any child; since our return, he has let us know by his uncooperative, disobedient conduct that he wasn’t happy that we were gone. Finally after two days, he is beginning to return to his normally compliant behavior and life is a bit smoother.
It is the same for many of us. Friends have reported that it is almost not worth it to take a vacation because the work-load is waiting there on their desk when they return. I think that the key word is “Almost”. It still is important to have a chance to let go of responsibilities and schedules and find a different rhythm, even for a few days. There was a recent article in the magazine “Costco Connections” concerning the importance of taking vacations. They were discussing the number of people that don’t utilize their paid time off and the reasons why they let their vacation days accrue year after year.
We do travel a lot in our family and much of the time those trips are not truly a vacation because of the work component of the trip, but it is refreshing to change things, even if not every moment is a holiday. Also going away can require a lot of logistics planning and scheduling, however I still recommend it. It is worth it.
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One Comment
My rule of thumb is that, for however long you’re going to be gone, it takes that long to prepare to go, and that long to get back in the groove once you get back. Relax! SLOWLY get back in the groove.
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