Post Vacation Stress Syndrome

This past Monday my family and I returned home after our first real family vacation. It was wonderful – the kids acted great, the weather was good and overall it was an unforgettable experience.

So, what’s the problem you might ask?

Well, nobody told me what I would be dealing with after the vacation. You see, I was so worried about how the kids would react to being in a hotel room and being at a theme park, I never gave any thought to what it would be like after we returned home.

And of course, nobody warned me.

All week I have been dealing with the most bizarre behaviors, mostly from my daughter. For example, yesterday I actually had to tell her to stop spitting in her hands and wiping it in her hair while we were driving my son to school. I mean, who ever has to say such a thing to their kids (besides me, obviously)?

Next is the fighting. My kids barely fought at all during our trip, even after staying up until midnight, being in the same tiny hotel room and even sharing a bed. Apparently this was to preemptively make up for the fighting they have done this week. I feel like a referee at a boxing match – all I need now is a whistle, since both kids already have corners that they have become reacquainted with over the week.

What I really want to know is why this isn’t addressed anywhere. I read so much about preparing kids for a road trip, keeping them safe in large spaces and even how to make them sleep easier away from home. Why didn’t these same people also write about the fact that the recovery the week after the vacation would be worse than the post-Christmas let down?

I think I have sprouted 20 new gray hairs this week and 18 of the 20 have my daughters name on them. Maybe this is her way of acting out. She had a wonderful time in Disneyland, she was very well behaved and never got in trouble once. She didn’t cry when we left and she did a great job in the car for the 6 hour ride home. I think she was plotting her revenge.

I now know why families only go on vacation once a year. It’s because vacations take 3 months of preparation, 2 months to recover from and another 7 months to forget about how bad the recovery period was. So, based on this I have about 7 more weeks until this passes. Wish me luck.

Alana Morales taught high school English for six years before staying home with her two children and becoming a freelance writer. She is a co-host on the new online radio show Mom Writer’s Talk Radio (www.MomWritersTalkRadio.com). Her first book, Domestically Challenged, is due out in 2006. You can read more of Alana’s work and get information about her book at www.AlanaMorales.com.