It’s safe to say that we have all experienced the difficulty of post-vacation. It doesn’t much matter where you went or what you did – on vacation, away from the daily minutiae (no matter how much you love your life), you become a different you. You are freer, more apt to experience new things, more likely to try new foods, you see amazing things that open your eyes to an array of new possibilities. You don’t care about getting to bed on time, because you’re on vacation! Who cares? You drink a pina colada, or five. Vacation.

Then you come home. And like a slow, annoying punch to the throat, all your normal responsibilities trickle in. It’s not that the tasks themselves are so horrible, but after seeing more of life than you do on a regular basis, all the minor details seem so absolutely insignificant, mundane to the core. Grocery shopping and laundry, seriously? The onslaught of insignificant chores is enough to induce a minor (or not so minor) depressive state. Your mind starts to examine the idea of how seldom you can feasibly travel and at that point you just want to hide under a rock for a while.

Having just come back from vacation, I found a few things that eased the frustration of the vacation-return. Here are a few tips (lets face is, mostly reminders for myself) on how to combat or at least slow down the back-to-reality machine.

Preemptive post-vacation preparation on the homefront:

Clean. Organize. Vacuum. Try to leave your home in a cleaner, more organized state than it is on a regular basis, that way, as you return home you’ll have a sense of positivity about your own space, an “I don’t remember everything being so tidy” moment, if you will. This is a bit challenging when you are attempting to shove four people’s worth of pants into suitcases moments before walking out the door (and if even more so if you have a kid walking behind you taking crap off of every. single. shelf. in the house as you’re packing). But coming home after vacation to a pleasantly clean, organized space versus coming back home to every surface cluttered with the “almost took on vacation” aftermath makes a huge difference in the attitudes of everyone involved. We’ve done it both ways. The difference is astronomical.

Frozen pizza. Easy breakfast. COFFEE. Okay, so, you’ve come back from your holiday. You’re back to whatever weather gives you permanent bitch-face. Now you have to think about what to feed all the hungry people in your house that are no happier to be home than you are. Nice. At this point, I would cue my running away from home soundtrack. That brings me to the pizza. Have frozen pizza waiting in your freezer for your return. Everyone likes pizza. No one will complain about why they have to eat this. Obviously, if you’re a family of pizza-haters (weirdos), have whatever meal equates to the ease of frozen pizza waiting for you.

Chances are slim that after the pizza you will all of a sudden muster all this lively energy to go shopping for the next day’s breakfast – this is apparently when the pina coladas have caught up with you and you become a useless blob. Stock your fridge with whatever your favorite low-stress breakfast is – again, cue the peaceful absence of “Why do I have to eat this?” This is not your morning to become Parent of the Year by feeding your kid chia-laced steel cut oats with fresh acai berries. This is survival mode. Get something that everyone will stick in their mouths and eat happily without complaints. COFFEE. That’s self-explanatory. Don’t forget half and half or whatever else you put in your mug or your first day back to reality will be abhorrently bad. If you’re feeling like an overachiever, have your pantry stocked with pasta and jarred sauce for lunch or dinner.

Pajamas. No matter what time of day you plan to return, just be easy on your future self and leave out pajamas for everyone before departing. This way you can bypass the arguments over not being able to find the pajamas your kid fancies. And maybe, just maybe, there won’t be too many complaints about going to bed. Don’t hold your breath though, unless you have some kind of magic pajamas, in which case, I’m going to need to know where I can buy a few pairs.

Toothbrushes. One of the most annoying items when packing to go back home are the toothbrushes for which, of course, you have lost the travel caps and the container you brought them in. In your rush, the wet toothbrushes end up in a pocket with sneakers or something equally toothbrush-unfriendly. Chances are, you’re not replacing your toothbrushes as often as you should anyhow, so why not just leave them behind and have sparkly new replacement toothbrushes waiting for you upon your return? It will make bedtime routines a bit more exciting on your first night back. If you are one of those high maintenance people with a fancy electric toothbrush, then you have enough excitement in your teeth-brushing routine. I’m not sure how to satisfy your dental needs. Buy some new floss or something.

Relish your own bed. One of the nice things about coming home is sleeping in your own bed again. More often than not, on vacation you end up missing your bed. Unless you’ve been sleeping on a super fancy mattress stuffed with golden geese feathers at the Plaza or something – in which case, your next vacation is probably coming soon and you’re okay. For everyone else, getting in your own bed is even sweeter when you’re getting into freshly laundered bedding. I always try to slap a fresh set of bedding on the beds before leaving. It makes the first night back a little sweeter.

Okay, so you made it through day 1 of post-vacation. Now comes the hard part, and we’ll attempt to tackle that beast next.

Post-Vacation Situation Part II – The recovery phase…COMING SOON