Transitioning from my 10-day Paris honeymoon to my daily routine has been harder than I expected. Two years ago I wrote a post about how to beat post vacation blues. So I thought I was prepared—except that I didn’t factor in jet lag. Awakening at 4 a.m. every morning just intensified my “re-entry blahs.”
I re-read my own post and reminded myself that it takes the same number of days to recover as the number of days you were gone. Now that I’ve been home for ten days I’m feeling more like my “normal” self and re-engaging with enthusiasm.
The hardest part of being home has been letting go of that magical Paris energy that enabled me to charge all over Paris with just three singular goals: what Paris landmarks to see, where to eat, and which Metro line to take to get there.
Paris is just as spectacular as people say. There’s an energy in Paris like no other and so much to see, do, and eat! My husband and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary by spending ten days in a charming apartment a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Every morning we sat at the little table in our apartment enjoying a croissant from the patisserie next door and fresh berries from the local marché. Every night I wrote stories about our adventures in our travel journal and my husband illustrated them.
The other bit of advice I took from my post was to remind myself what I’m grateful for as I return to my regular life. In my yoga class this morning, I had a chance to reflect on the gratitude I feel for being back home. After being away, I’ve come back with fresh eyes and deeper appreciation for my life, my family and friends, and all the wonderful activities I have here in my own little paradise. As I’ve transitioned from Paris glow to appreciation of my daily life, these are a few contrasting thoughts I’ve noticed over the past ten days:
- The pleasure of sleeping in my own comfortable bed vs. not being able to fall asleep or awaken at the usual time
- The glow of my post-vacation high vs. the shock of facing all of life’s daily responsibilities
- The enjoyment of a home-cooked meal that satisfied my cravings for veggies, salad and baked potato vs. the drag of having to go to the supermarket for the veggies, salad, and potato
- The ecstasy of hearing my granddaughters’ voices on the phone the day we returned vs. the exhaustion of having them spend the night while I was still jet lagged
- The fun of reminiscing about our Paris faves vs. the overwhelming feeling of needing to chronicle and share all the stories
- The satisfaction of having finally visited Paris vs. the irritation of fighting the crowds of other tourists
What I’m most grateful for is the blessing of fulfilling a dream I’ve had ever since I met my husband in 1967. He’d just returned from spending a year in Paris doing post-doctoral studies at Madame Curie’s laboratory. I fantasized that a Paris honeymoon would be the most romantic place we could celebrate our wedding … and we did 45 years later. Just like French wine, some things get better with age.
How wonderful! Dreams do come true.