1. It’s 5:30 in the morning and you’re in the extended stay parking lot driving in circles, because that’s when the cheapest flight could be had. You frantically look around for the shuttle bus, worried that if you miss your ride you won’t make it to the check-in desk before the flight closes. Did your anxiety about money manage to ruin the trip before it even started?!
2. You have an uneasy feeling that you sounded exactly like your dad when your teenager just asked, “why do we have to go to this same stupid beach, AGAIN?” You wonder if entitlement is a disease that affects all children, or just yours.
3. The ratio of dirty diapers changed to book pages turned is nearly 1 to 1. You wonder if other parents have time to read… Intelligence isn’t measured by the quantity or quality of books read, right?
4. Your mother-in-law just told your husband, “Let me put that sunscreen on your back; you always get so burned.” You want to interject and get her off his back (literally). You think to yourself, “I could have sworn my husband was an adult before we left on this trip!”
5. Suitcases filled with dirty clothes and souvenirs have exploded all over your house. It’s midnight because the only affordable flight home for a family of five meant suffering two layovers, eating two meals at the airport, and landing at 10:30. You and your partner fall back onto the bed and simultaneously exclaim, “We need a vacation!”
How can any of us stay sane when we only have 24 hours in a day to keep our partners happy, be good parents, enjoy our alone time, respond to emails, take showers, and get some sleep?
Though getting away for a few days can alleviate some of these burdens (More sleep? Relying on that trusty out-of-office message?), the anxieties, obligations, and stressors present in our everyday lives follow us wherever we go… EVEN ON VACATION.
After all, wherever you go, there you are.
If you are in need of Post-Traumatic Summer Vacation Disorder therapy, call Dodini Behavioral Health!
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