We just recently went on vacation and enjoyed every second of the warm weather, time at the beach, and being able to spend the majority of our days outside! Life sure is good while you’re ON vacation, especially for us Chicagoans who can escape winter for a bit. But, upon returning home, I realized there are a few reasons why I DISLIKE vacations.
Yes, you heard me correctly. There are actually some reasons why I DISLIKE going on vacation. Call me crazy, but it’s true. While there aren’t many…..and the good most definitely outweighs the bad, there are still a few downfalls that exist.
WASTED TIME
SO MUCH time is wasted in the traveling process, I tell ya. If you’re flying, you can almost guarantee that a good portion of the first and last day are wasted in an airport. When we fly somewhere, we need to leave a minimum of an hour to get to the airport (pending traffic). An hour in the car with a toddler, or children of any age for the matter, is plenty long. Then, you’ll most likely have 1-2hrs in the airport before your flight departs. Such a joy waiting in security and standing in line to board the plane. Not to mention sitting on the landing strip for takeoff could potentially take some time, too. Fast forward 2/3/4/5+ hours on the actual airplane with kids who are easily bored and restless. Then, you patiently wait to get off the plane, take a potty break, head to the baggage claim, and get on your way to the final destination…..ultimately arriving 6-8 hours later. Do this all over again a week later. ALMOST TWO FULL DAYS out of your vacation time are used in this way. Exhausting.
MOUNDS OF MAIL
The amounts of mail that can accumulate while you are away is baffling. My poor mailman has to shove each day’s worth of mail in the tiny crevices that somehow remain. While most of what we get is junk mail and bills, you can’t help but feel overwhelmed when seeing the massive pile. It all just makes you feel so backed up on life….especially when you felt free of mental clutter a few days back.
The amounts of mail that can accumulate while you are away is baffling. My poor mailman has to shove each day’s worth of mail in the tiny crevices that somehow remain. While most of what we get is junk mail and bills, you can’t help but feel overwhelmed when seeing the massive pile. It all just makes you feel so backed up on life….especially when you felt free of mental clutter a few days back.
UNPACKING
This just might be the top reason I dislike going on vacation. The unpacking…..and the laundry. Really….need I say more?! It’s bad enough that you spend your last day traveling instead of relaxing, but then you get home without any ounce of energy to unpack. So, the suitcase sits by the door until the next morning. OKAY, who are we kidding…it will sit there for a few days, if not longer, until you muster up the energy and will power to unzip and man up. OR, if we are really being candid, the only driving force for us to open up our luggage is when we realize we are out of socks or in search of a certain item. Then, BAM…it hits you. LAUNDRY. Ugh! The dreaded task that accompanies unpacking. Why do the two have to go hand in hand?
DIFFERENCE IN DEGREES
When we go on vacation during the winter months, it is usually to visit some place warm…to escape the frigid temperatures, enjoy some fresh air, and bask in some sunshine. But, reality really slaps you in the face upon returning when it’s snowing and you no longer are able to take walks outside sporting a cover up and flip flops. Going from sunny and 75 to coming home and seeing your breath as you walk outside is simply wrong….a really mean joke, in fact. Couldn’t the change be a little less drastic where we could ease ourselves back into real life? One could hope…
AN EMPTY FRIDGE
I don’t know about you, but the week prior to leaving for vacation, we always plan to go light on grocery shopping. Knowing we will be away for a week or more, we don’t want to come back to moldy fruit or open up the fridge to foul smells. So, to avoid this…we do our best to eat as much of what’s inside so we don’t come back to rotten food. Great thinking, but the worst is when you come back late in the evening and you have no food! The very last thing I want to do is hit up the grocery store for some late night/early morning shopping. Jetlag still hasn’t let go of its grasp on me and I need a little time to adjust to getting back into the daily grind. So, we resort to the pantry or take out. Nothing wrong with that, right?
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