Where's My Vacation Mental Reset Button?

When my husband had to go to a recent conference in Germany, I jumped at the opportunity to tag along. I had a wonderful time, and though I missed my boys I also enjoyed a much needed break for myself. I could wake up on my own schedule, have a leisurely breakfast with a little pot of tea, and go sight-seeing all over Stuttgart and nearby towns without worrying about losing one or all of my three little guys.

After husband’s daily meetings we even had meals at nice restaurants without kids crawling under the table, standing in the chairs, smearing food on the table or in hair, annoying each other, yelling about something they see across the room, or announcing to everyone in the restaurant that they had pooped on the potty. We took strolls after dinner and had real conversations with other adults, including one fun evening in which we shared a table with a German couple and passed the time trying out our German while they tried out their English.

The best part of the trip was that I allowed myself to relax and not worry about the boys; they were in good hands with the grandparents, after all. We called home each day to check in, but otherwise I just had fun. My vacation brain was not ready to come back to reality

and went into shock when the kids woke up the morning after our return and it was back to life as usual with morning grouchiness, whining, sibling arguments, picky eaters, diapers, laundry, and bedtime shenanigans. And of course there was all the other day-to-day things to deal with. It was the last week of school with all sorts of special activities, and the AC was dead and we were still waiting for the installation of the new system. The garden had grown while we were gone, but so had the weeds, which were now knee high. I just knew I would have to reset my brain to adapt to all the daily challenges.

But for some reason last week it was all good. Things that would otherwise get on my nerves like the AC being out for another two weeks or the kids arguing rolled off like water on a duck. No naps for Monkey Boy three days in a row? Last minute shopping for teachers gifts that I didn’t have time to pick up before we left for Germany? Sweltering in the afternoon heat without any AC? No worries.

Even though we’ve been back for over a week now, I still wake up in the morning thinking about that short vacation and how good it was for my mental state, then the kids voices remind me I’m home and I push those thoughts of the vacation aside for a bit, make myself a pot of tea, and tend to our daily activities. In a few short days I had grown accustomed to my relaxed schedule and it reminded me that even though I’m a mom with three busy little boys, I’m still a woman with my own needs and interests, and I indulged some of those while on the trip. I took traveled around and took photos at all of the places I visited and did some research for a short travel guide. I even bought guide books in German and forced myself to brush up on my very rusty high school German (Frau Pondelick would have been so proud). I enjoyed sampling beers and the food and spending time with my husband in the country where we honeymooned nine years ago.

After a week of being home again, I decided that maybe I don’t really need that mental reset button to get myself back in the groove after vacation. Maybe the answer is to just give myself a break more often than once a year.

Original DC Metro Moms Blog post.

Andrea writes about cooking, gardening, and her four hungry guys at Andrea Meyers. She also wrote a travel guide for Stuttgart, Germany based on her recent trip at Wandering Educators.