Like
me, you’ve been on this road before, no doubt.
It’s
the road home after you’ve been on a vacation, or weekend get-a-way, or
retreat. And as that idyllic place---the lake, beach, cabin in the woods, or
hotel---begins slowly to recede in your rear view mirror, you want to screech
your breaks to a halt, turn around, and somehow grab your vacation spot and take
it with you. You have this sinking
feeling that you should have planned just one more day and that it’s not time
to go back to the daily grind in the old familiar place, no, not just yet,
please.
Like the drowsy person hitting the snooze
alarm, you want just a little more time.
You
want to stay.
But
you know you can’t.
Did
you miss the road sign on your way out?
BEWARE: PASSING INTO POST VACATION DEPRESSION
ZONE.
We’ve
all been there. It’s characterized by that dark feeling of dread upon returning
to the routine. And you feel a tinge of
guilt because you’ve so enjoyed your time away that you should want to come
back. And you do.
But
then again, you don’t.
When
our oldest daughter, now 24, was only 2 years old, we went to Destin, Florida
for a vacation. As we pulled into our carport, I turned around to wake her and
get her out of her car seat. Thinking she would be glad to be home, I cheerily
said, “We’re home.”
I
was surprised when she sleepily looked around, realized where she was, and then
angrily kicked her legs and cried, “I want my bacation!”
You
don’t have to be an adult to enter the post vacation depression zone.
The
first step out of it is admitting you are there. You probably aren’t clinically
depressed, just tired and longing for more time away. It’s normal to pass into
this zone; you just don’t want to stay there.
Lori
and I hadn’t been able to celebrate our anniversary in several years, so this
year we spent a couple of days at a resort. As I was in the elevator on our way
to check out, the gentleman standing next to me was talking about how he had
taken Monday off so he could enjoy a third day there. “A third day,” I thought,
“that’s what we need. Why didn’t I…?”
I
was primed for the post vacation depression zone.
So,
Lori and I talked about it on the way home. It helps to admit how you are
feeling.
Another
thing that quickens the passage through the post vacation depression zone is to
review what you most enjoyed. For years I’ve done that with our kids. “Tell me
your favorite moment,” I would say. And each of us would share. Doing so allows
you to claim the good about the vacation and bring it into your present journey.
Sometimes
thinking about what you liked most can teach you what you should try and change
about your current lifestyle. Did you feel better because you were more rested?
Was it having more time to talk,
exercise, or read that you liked most? Think about ways you could incorporate
the best of your vacation into a new routine. Being proactive can actually lift
your spirit.
I’ve
found it’s best if I can have what I call a “buffer day” between the vacation
and the return to work so that on that drive home, I’m not thinking about
having to unpack and get ready for work the very next day. Unfortunately, that’s
not always possible. I recall the time I came back from vacation and immediately
had to minister to a couple whose son had been murdered the night before. This
year, I returned home from a week away late on a Thursday night to find I was
needed at two funerals the next two days. If emergencies happen, they happen,
but at least try and plan for a day to ease back before being thrown into the
fray.
One
last thing, and this is essential for passing through the post vacation
depression zone. Remember to promise yourself you’ll return for another time
away. This last healthy action will surely release you from the zone’s grip,
for after all, we need something pleasant to look forward to because we deserve
and want our “bacation.”
