OOF I am BACK. Back in “normal blog voice”, no longer writing in “travel mode”. 😊
Re-emerging into regular life has been…fine. Considering our flight got in around 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday night, and we both had to work on Wednesday. 😂 (I know, I know, I know…we are gluttons for punishment. We do it to ourselves and accept the consequences.)
We chose that flight, because the late arrival sounded WAY better than a super early flight out of Mexico City. I loathe super early flights.
It wasn’t that bad, really. I didn’t start work until around 9 am, and slept in until I think at least 7:30. Expectations for the day were low. I mostly just sifted through emails and then spent the afternoon catching up on solo type work- no big collaborative meetings or anything requiring immense brain power.
It helps that the boys don’t start school until next week, so I’ve been able to mostly just ignore them these last couple days and let them sleep and video game and go to the park and just do whatever teenager-aged kids do after they’ve been away from home for two weeks.
A Brief “Bad” List
- We have no food in the house, still. Yeah, probably not gonna happen until tomorrow. We walked to the gas station for lunch on Wednesday and had pizza for dinner. Yesterday I made the boys minute rice and eggs…. lol. Went out for dinner.
- Looking ahead to school starting has me slightly terrified. Our activities schedule looks busy. Asher especially. Also- the bus pick up time has shifted about 30 minutes earlier this year. That’s a big change, and will require the boys to be up a lot earlier than before. (*also impedes on my morning time window…)
- We (Ivan and I only) have to go to a freaking WEDDING tonight. 😫 It’s for a good work friend of his. On a scale of 0-10, my desire to get dressed up and go to a wedding tonight for an acquaintance comes in at about a 0. Starts at 4 pm, too, which means I obviously need to cut out of work early to get ready, etc. Mehhhh. I soooo don’t feel like doing this!!
A Brief “Good” List
- I unpacked all my stuff already, and so did the boys.
- No plans this weekend, so Operation Re-Set My Life in everything else (e.g. groceries, bills, laundry) will have to mostly wait.
- Can I just say how amazing it is to live somewhere where you can go for a walk outside everyday? Without stepping in a pothole, a broken sidewalk, garbage or stray dog poop?
A Brief “Neutral” List
- Ethan started Ortho treatment yesterday!! So far just spacers got put in. His actual braces go on in 2 weeks. (Was really pleased with myself that I scheduled an appointment during my 2nd day back to work, too…. 😬 Couldn’t really be avoided though, unfortunately.)
- Asher decided to re-join soccer. After a 2+ year hiatus. He suddenly was begging me to play again…. ok, then… guess we’ll see how it goes. He is EXCITED though. Had his first practice last night.
- Currently pondering how my fall exercise schedule should look. A bunch of changes at work are kind of squashing a little of my normal daytime flexibility (more on camera meetings, training someone new, etc.). I keep mulling over how this should look, and, what about the gym?? Hmm. I don’t know yet.
- Read 4,000 Weeks cover to cover on vacation and I loved it! I didn’t bother to take a single note, just sat and read it, like a normal person probably reads books. lol. Maybe I’ll share some thoughts on it in another post. My main take away I think was a mindset shift re: just relaxing and letting some things go…. nothing is really THAT important, because, well, we’re all gonna die anyway, you know? 😆(weirdly, this can be a liberating thought.)
Saw this yesterday and liked it:
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful to be home safe and sound. I always breathe a little sigh of relief after travels, just that we made it back to our cozy little home again. 🙂
GRATEFUL KAE 
Things that made me laugh in this post: “I’ve been able to mostly just ignore them these last couple days and “I didn’t bother to take a single note, just sat and read it, like a normal person probably reads books.”
I wonder if the sudden interest in playing soccer again has anything to do with your trip and all the times the boys kicked the ball around with family and friends on vacation? That’s a nice little artifact of your vacation!
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I definitely do think it played a role… soccer is big in Mexico, of course. He mostly seemed to suddenly realize soccer is really “fun”- the whole playing as a team, fast pace, etc. He is still doing swim, but I sense that he had a sudden longing for the more team aspect of a sport, vs just swimming alone in a lane.
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Oof, a late flight and then going right into a work day is rough!! I know you guys try to maximize your vacation days and don’t want to waste any of them! I have unlimited PTO although I don’t abuse it of course. But it gives me more flexibility. But we almost always come back from vacations or long weekends at the lake on a Saturday so we have Sunday to grocery shop, do laundry, etc. But I think it’s just our personalities/nature? I’ve long through that Phil and Ivan are very similar but he is NOT the social creature that Ivan is! And he does not like quick turnaround, like getting back at night and going to work the next day!
I’m starting to think about my fall exercise plans, too. I am going to try the peloton ap to see what i think of their training plans. I haven’t found something i am really excited about since finishing MM. So I have been focusing on running but that isn’t optimal – I need to strength train and I do enjoy it. I just need to find the right instructor/program. But I need something shorter – like 45 min workouts can be hard for me to fit in. That’s why I really loved MM but I didn’t love it enough to repeat it again. So I’m kind of hemming and hawing over what to do. And I had kind of slipped into going to the office twice a week but starting 9/6 we have to come in 3 days/week so that is going to make it harder to work out, but I’m going to try leaving at like 3 one day to workout in the gym/run downtown. We’ll see how that works.
Hope the wedding is more fun than you think it will be. I would not be excited to go either after the busy stretch you’ve had, plus knowing school starts next week!
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Yes, I think Phil and Ivan seem very similar in their very level-headed/ common sense type approach to life. But Ivan is very social only WHEN he is around people he knows well/ family/ etc. He’s not super outgoing at all, for example, if we are say, at a school sporting event and he doesn’t really know anyone. He is not the guy going around talking to other parents, making small talk, etc. Not at all.
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can you make up an excuse and not to go to the wedding? I would totally do it! hahaha…
I usually keep something in the freezer like dumplings, pasta sauce in the freezer before travel so when we come back, we have something to eat.
getting back to “normal” life feels comforting and overwhelming at the same time but i’m sure you’ll get things sort it out and start enjoying the routine.
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Ugh. I’m commenting on my phone and just lost my long comment. Facepalm.
The short version: I also find I have a broad range of emotions when I get home – happy, sad, relieved, excited, exhausted. And yes to the desperation (but also lack of enthusiasm) for getting the fridge restocked!
Hope the wedding ends up being surprisingly fun – I agree it doesn’t sound overly appealing since you don’t know them well, but you seem to do such a great job of putting a positive spin on most situations!!
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I find coming back from vacation (even if I start looking forward to home + routine at the end) so, so hard. The transition back to normal life always takes a little while… but I try to establish a routine again as soon as possible. Helps me to get over the post-vacation blues the quickest.
Ugh, but coming home late and working the next day are the worst.
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