On Saturday (July 2), my family and I arrived home from a 10-day trip to Europe. The jet lag that I had after arriving in Europe was *nothing* compared to what I’m experiencing after arriving back home again. The time difference is 7 hours.
It may have to do with how worn out I got during our trip, which was full of rushing around and tending to the kids, especially 2-year-old Mark, all of the time and never really getting a break or down time.
My experience so far, after returning home
- I am exhausted by 8 p.m. and ready to fall asleep. Unfortunately, Mark isn’t ready to fall asleep until at least 8 p.m.; last night it was 8:45 p.m.
- Mark is up every day around 5 a.m. This doesn’t leave me much time to catch up on sleep.
- At times, I feel alert, energetic, and ready to take on the world. I feel motivated to clean, declutter, work on trip photos, and so on. Next thing I know, my energy is gone, my focus and concentration have diminished, and it’s all I can do to lie on the couch and feel miserable. Not miserable like I feel sick, but just miserable from an energy and mood standpoint. I guess that’s what depression feels like. When I think about tending to my photography business, I feel so overwhelmed and “down” that I just have to move on to something else. When I think about planning something for the rest of July (birthday party, family get-together) it just does me in. It doesn’t help that interruptions from the kids are frequent.
- Mark is, much of the time, unable to entertain himself or be by himself. I chalk this up to jet lag, sleep debt, and adjusting to being back home. This puts more demand on me to be with him, hold him, and manage conflict between him and his older brother, Adam.
Today I am considering putting the kids in front of the TV (netflix) so I can get a break. Definitely not something I would have considered a year or two ago, but I truly need a vacation after getting home from our whirlwind overseas experience.
The Honest Mommy 
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