Case of the Mondays or Post-Vacation Blues?

I did my duty as an American last week. I took a vacation to help stimulate the economy. It officially ended last night when I went to bed and today, I dragged myself to work feeling a little depressed. Do I have a case of the Mondays or am I suffering from post-vacation blues?

I’m not one to waste my precious vacation days from the day job and I often use vacation time for research trips for this blog. The best part of doing this blog is planning my vacation, the Thailand islands do look good and there are a lot of ferries like the Songserm ferry services to get there. Anyway, last week was (supposed to be) an authentic vacation where I (tried to) unplug from the day job and enjoy time with family and friends in Buffalo, N.Y.

Other than a couple of lows including turning down an all-expense paid trip to Thailand for this blog and waking up at 5:30 a.m. driving an hour to Buffalo Bills training camp only to be told it was cancelled due to inclement weather – um, there were clouds in the sky and it didn’t rain (are the Bills getting soft?) – the trip was full of cherished moments and experiences.

Yes, I saw my family in June when I made my dad cry by surprising my parents for Father’s Day and I’ve been going home for Christmas the past few years, but this time I had a whole week to enjoy.

“What do you want to do today?” My Mom would ask on our “agenda-free days.”

“Nothing, I just want to veg,” I replied.

My visit to Buffalo included a trip to the 175th Erie County Fair where I relived childhood moments, reminisced about being in 4-H, and cheered on a fellow Sarasota resident, Nik Wallenda as he crossed the midway on a high wire. I visited my alma mater, SUNY Brockport, and finally got up close and personal with the New York Amish. I also rediscovered my childhood sanctuary, the family woods, which I’m sure is the reason I have an appreciation for nature and the great outdoors.

My friend Annette, who’s always up for my crazy adventures, and I had our own adventures which I’ll get around to blogging about. I will say it was full of fun and laughs, just like the time we tried to make rhubarb sauce at her house way back when.

I also met up with family, not just my siblings and their families but an aunt, uncle and cousins, and caught up with some of the neighbors. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to catch up with everyone.

I explained the game of “Big Brother” to my mom, who insisted everyone is an actor, while I giggled while listening to my dad tell his brother in Florida about the pending sale of the Buffalo Bills.

“This Bon Jovi, he’s a singer,” he said and for some reason, I thought the conversation was funny.

I had a most excellent vacation full of highs and perhaps coming back to the reality of no day-to-day family connection is my mental crash. I have to admit, sometimes life is really hard without a support system but ya just have to soldier on. Or maybe, I’m just coming down with a cold from being in much cooler temperatures and it’s making me a little sentimental and emotional right now.

I returned with a suitcase full of the flavors of Buffalo along with some of my Grandma Huber’s recipes. These will keep me connected and so will modern technology.

It may not be chicken soup, but Grandma Huber’s clam and corn chowder recipe is the right potion for my soul. I made a batch yesterday and soon I’ll get around to sharing the recipe. Slowly, it’s chasing these post-vacation blues away.

Do you ever experience the post-vacation blues?

Note: Gold Star to those of you who got the “Case of the Mondays” reference.