Post Vacation Blues (It's a real thing)
Have you ever been on a trip and struggle to get back on track? Maybe you feel a little blue and you don't understand why you feel so down...I mean, you didn't feel like this before you left and your trip was perfect. So why can't you seem to find your rhythm again? Why don't you feel "normal"? You may wonder "What's wrong with me?". In short, nothing is wrong with you. It's actually a thing called Post Vacation Blues and it's extremely common.
Personally, I've never experienced it until now. I had heard of it but I've always been the type to say "It was a great trip but I'm looking forward to getting back home and to my old routine". I mean, when it's over...it's over. I've never even had it departing any of our visits to St. Barth's and that's our most favorite place in the entire world. I figured I was immune. WRONG. I've been struggling and it's not like we had been any place new or that special. I've been visiting 30A in Florida my entire life. What I have realized is it wasn't the place, it's what I was coming back to. Don't get me wrong, I have a very blessed life and I'm not looking for pity or sympathy. Our life had been out of control busy...like Mach 10 with your hair on fire kind of busy. Everyone has their own pace at which they are comfortable. I'm pretty comfortable with being pretty busy, but not this kind of busy. I realized that I have almost been robotic living up to expectations and getting everything "done" and the problem is I created it. My life had been running me instead of the other way around. My balance had been thrown off...like not even a little but kicked out into the sea.
It has not even been a week and each day is getting better and I feel like I will be back to my old self soon. Well, kind of...because I'm making some changes. It will be a better version of my old self. This is what I have come to realize. Allow yourself a day or two to feel what you are feeling. That's where the answers lie. For me, it's to slow down. I need to allow for a little more flexibility in my life. I need to not be so hard on myself...we are our own worst critic. I need more variety in my workouts; I have been so regimented that I am getting burned out so I need to mix it up a bit more. I need to make more time for fun days with friends; it's always the first thing to go when we are over scheduled. I need to slow down and enjoy the summer with our children that are home before our empty nest in the fall. I want to go back to entertaining more at home instead of dining out so much...don't get me wrong, I love our date nights but I love entertaining from home too. And I want to organize the one last closet in my house that needs organizing. I get very stressed out when my house it out of order. But hey, we all have our issues right? It all sound so simple but it's easy for things to slip of of control. One day you are trucking right along fine and dandy and it seems the next you don't even know if you have time to brush your teeth. So this will be my "Summer of Simplicity". Everyone's answers will be different. I'm sharing this because it's okay to not feel one hundred precent all the time. I do choose to focus on the good in my life but we are all human and no one has a perfect life all the time. That's why I chose to share this. I'm not a doctor, I'm not an expert, I'm just a wife and mom like you doing the best I can on any given day. But we all get overwhelmed. And i't okay to have a not so okay day or week. Give yourself a pass. I have gained renewal by allowing myself to feel what was really going on. It's also helpful to have a supportive partner. My husband is my best friend and greatest supporter in this life and for that I could not be more grateful. I'm so excited about my #summerofsimplicity and creating balance in my life again...with my lipstick on of course!
