Sure, I get that vacation isn’t real life.  I understand it’s a time when you can put a message on your email that says, “Sorry I missed you!  Gone to paradise.  Talk to you next week!”  I understand that for a week or so, the only people you have to think about are yourself and perhaps a significant other and that work can be a distant memory.  The only problem with this picture is the lack of transition to the real world when you get back.

Key West is my idea of a perfect vacation.  While there are things to do, everything is somehow ssslllooowwweeerrr.  As I explained to Doug, it’s not like people aren’t efficient, or that things aren’t moving at a decent pace, it’s just that nobody makes you move at that pace with them.  Voices are calm, tropical breezes relax your body, you can walk everywhere so you’re not dealing with the stress of driving, and nobody rushes you through meals.  Sit, relax and practice mindfulness.  No more scarfing your meal like you will at school, no more yelling at drivers who step on their brakes before ever considering that the turn signal might be a clue to the rest of us that you’re going to step on your brakes, nobody chasing you out of stores or following you around.  Just. Take. Your. Time.

I tried to create a transition of one day.  Didn’t have to be anywhere or see anyone, but my significant other jumped right into work.  Honestly, one of the best parts of our vacation, was that we got to spend time with each other for a whole week!  I’m pretty sure this is literally the only time of the year we get to do this and it was wonderful.  But the minute we get home, he’s at the computer and band season has begun with a vengeance.  For me, it’s a little different.  Yes, I have some projects to look at and school begins in a little over a week, but I can chose my timeline.  And then today, the email exploded.  And I had a meeting.  And I’ll have another one tomorrow at lunch  (that I arranged), and I need to write an article, get ready for BOY meetings (beginning of year), meet my new student teacher and show her around.  It’s not like I don’t like any of this, it’s that again, there is no transition.

The other fun fact is that it seems to all hit at once.  It’s like someone says, “ok, they’ll be back to reality in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1” – and someone smacks a great big gong somewhere, sending vibrations everywhere and assumes that we’ll just turn on the engine and go.  It’s like trying to get my little car to jump from 0-60 in 15 seconds or something ridiculous.  There’s just going to be a lot of moaning and groaning and a little kick-back involved.

So just as I’m feeling the effects of the withdrawal, I grab my phone and look at pictures from Key West and try to recreate the feeling I had just a few days ago and wonder what it would be like to live in a place like that permanently.  Would you just get used to it after a while and would all the magic disappear?  Would I catch myself saying things like “oh, another beautiful flower or nice palm trees” with a ho-hum tone to my voice?  Perhaps I would actually find myself wasting away in Margaritaville.  You never know.  Perhaps the grass I think is greener isn’t…. but I sure wouldn’t mind trying it out to see.