How to Deal With Post-Vacay Blues

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. For all you lovelies out there that have returned home from blissful-relaxation or action packed hair raising adventure. This post is for that feeling that bubbles up from the depths of normalcy, routine, the to-do list, it’s all right there waiting for your return… and coming with it this time is the Post-Vacay Blues.

What is life?

Wouldn’t it be nice to just – go back? Or have never returned at all? Without the context around that last sentence, you’d be well due for some counselling. This is totally normal behaviour following a return to life’s responsibilities. I suppose it is what life is about. It took me awhile to cope with that idea when I returned home from Mexico a couple of weeks ago. I have recently left my government job to pursue a hopefully more passionate career, even amidst all of the debt and work of owning a near tear-down quality of house. Of course I didn’t want to do any of it. I wanted to go back to the beach and sift through sand finding minuscule shells!

Our Western culture here in Canada is that of work, big houses and large grassy lawns. I had to delve into the philosophy behind that to escape my blues. Examine the differing cultures around the world and why this one I live in bothers me so much right now.

Bringing It Home

In Mexico, the weather is warm. The hostel where we slept was open to the outside, no insulation, just natural materials such as ferns for keeping the rain out. Back in Canada, despite the majority of the population being as near South to the border as possible, we are still very cold. My house is packed full of fluffy fibreglass insulation, manufactured in a plant somewhere and held in between wood and dry wall. Half of it is unfinished. The amount of time and money needed to complete it makes my head begin to whirl. The fire place is burning wood more often than not to keep warm because our reliance on electricity is starting to get expensive! Oh Mexico…with your brightly coloured open concept houses and excellent corn tortillas. What can I do to remember you? How can I rid myself of the Post-Vacay BLUES!

Cuisine

Yes! Despite the blues we have to eat! Think back to your vacation and the amazing foods you tried. With the help of globalization and online shopping you too can make the diverse amounts of cuisine you’ve had the pleasure of tasting on the road. In Canada I am lucky to live in a cultural melting pot where some of the most beloved international ingredients can be bought at the nearest grocery store! Enter – Masa Harina. The corn flour used commonly to make corn tortillas! LOVE! Trying to replicate this in my own kitchen soothed the cravings for the delicious tacos I had in Sinaloa Mexico. Why not take what you’re taste buds learnt there into your own kitchen to share with your people?

Decor

Did you enjoy the vibrancy of the culture? The neatness? The cleanliness? The loudness? Whatever it was you enjoyed about it, try and emulate that in your own home. Try out a bold accent wall of turquoise, pink, or orange! It’s only paint – you can always paint over it! Need something more renter friendly? Hang up your souvenirs, or rearrange your apartment to fit the aesthetic of something that inspired you on your journeys.

Way of life

Was there regular siestas where you traveled? Olive oil and wine? Slower walking speeds? Maybe something you thought was divine in the culture you immersed yourself in is easily achievable in your own life. If your boss sees you strolling, tell them to take a vacation! (Don’t quote me on this). But seriously – let’s not be so SERIOUS!

For The Love of Travel

There is so much beauty ALL over the world and the fact that we can travel to see it, experience it, taste it. We should consider ourselves lucky to have the ups and downs of an awesome vacation. Where you are in the world may have been chosen for you at birth, but where you’ve taken your life, the places you’ve been, seen, moved to.. it’s all wrapped up in the fabrics of what makes you you. A person who had seen new places, new ways of life and is bringing it back to grow and share. So for the love of travel, I heed your dread oh-mightily-reflective post-vacay blues! Dissipate! As I transform into a worldly woman.