Travel makes for a bundle of memories that we pack into our suitcases and try to close it shut. Tight. As I get ready to wind up a long vacation, I wonder what makes us so excited about packing when we are starting, and what makes us ache so much when we are ready to head home, ready to put an end to a life without routine. Here I am, sitting in a rubble of things collected out of consumer needs and as icons of the time spent making a new place my own – albeit, briefly. And I am lost. I am utterly lost. How am I going to fit all this into the suitcases I had carried? How am I supposed to fit all these memories and hold them tight without losing sight of them when I get back home to my everyday rubble of well – the everyday?
That is the thing about packing to go back. It hurts. Leaving behind adventure and spontaneity for a life filled with watching the clock and the monthly salary along with many other routine tasks squeezed in, can be quite a challenge. From making time for fun and frolic as well as the charm of a new city, to walking with the needle of a clock, without being able to escape the round dial – it can be more than just a challenge.
So apart from jet lag, there should be a term called emotional lag when we come back from vacations. There should be a week off to help people get back in the right frame of mind. Well, who am I kidding? Will anyone ever be okay with putting an end to a holiday?
Totally agree with you. Emotional lag can be worse than jet lag.