Coming home from a vacation, especially a really good one is tough!

First, you have the anticipation and buildup of going on vacation. Then you have vacation brain, about 2 days, maybe even more, at work before you are going on vacation. You know vacation brain, when you can’t do your job or function like a normal person because you are already in vacation mode. Then there is the excitement of getting there, then you’re there and where do you start and what do you do next?

Then you relax…ahhh…you have seven or eight days to relax, if you’re going somewhere beach related or themed, maybe you have seven or eight or more days to explore and see and do, like I did in Ireland a few months ago, I didn’t want to sit around and do nothing, I wanted to go and do and see, although, there were a few places I could have seen staying more than one night and exploring.

Then there is the wind down, it’s the last three, two, days of the trip and you’re packing, where did the time go. Then you’re ready to head back to life, back to reality [no, not singing], you realize it has been long enough, or possibly not long enough, as the case may be, but it’s time to get back to whatever it is you do in between vacations. You pack and get ready to head to the airport.

At the airport, you reminisce about the trip, talk about what a great time you had together, if you were with other people, then you might talk about the next trip you want to take, maybe even together. You get home and settle in, unpack and do laundry, because it’s early enough you don’t want to do it tomorrow. Then…you are so beat, it’s time for bed.

The next day, you are kind of lost, if you went with your immediate family, you are still together, but the grandparents and aunts and uncles aren’t there, they aren’t next door to run into their rooms or down the hall to run back and forth, play hide and seek, tag, hot and cold. It’s the same when you travel with friends or neighbors, it feels weird. You go through withdraws for those people, you just spent seven or eight days together day and night and now they’re not there…where did they go?

So, if it’s family and/or friends, you make plans to see each other soon and if it’s neighbors, walk down the street to say hello! Make a dinner date so you can see each other, maybe look at photos together!

Of course, when you get back to work, everyone wants to know how the trip was, did you have a fabulous time, let’s see pictures! That puts you into a happy mood, reliving the trip. Of course, you joke about wishing someone was there to bring you your morning coffee and to make your bed every day. You’re joking, sort of…

You get back into your routine and then in a few months, you start the process over. Sounds pretty good to me. Although…how do you turn all of that into a money maker?