Vacation Withdrawal
I’m going through vacation withdrawal which is weird because I’m basically on vacation everyday now that I’m retired. Perhaps it’s more travel withdrawal I’m experiencing, but nah, it’s actually a combination of both.
Coming off a two-week European cruise where I didn’t have to make my bed, lift a finger to prepare a meal and tidy up afterwards, and where my bathroom was cleaned TWICE a day, makes me yearn to do it all over again.
I miss my travel companions. Four of us were together for this trip and I shared a room, which I don’t do very often these days. I got accustomed to being with people and seeing tons of humans throughout my day. Admittedly, being surrounded by hundreds of tourists was daunting, but most of our guides did their best to keep us engaged in the history around us while keeping us together as a group.
And I miss our tour guides. Although they were different for 14 days, I have my favorites who I will never forget due to their passion, humor and compassion for the needs of their individual group members.
I miss the European men. Granted they were all way too young for me, but so cute and their accents were way too charming for any woman’s well-being.
I miss the purity of the food I devoured. The best ricotta I ever ate, the creamiest lasagna I ever tasted, the freshest prosciutto and the most delicious chocolate. Yes, the chocolate bites filled with pistachio cream, the chocolate gelato I had every night (sometimes in addition to other desserts), and the free chocolate in our cabin fridge.
I miss being rocked to sleep every night as the ship moved through the Mediterranean waves, some nights a bit rougher than others. In fact, I haven’t slept that well in years, which makes me think someone needs to invent an adult cradle which I think I just did! I’d definitely buy it. I don’t remember being in my mother’s womb, but I’m thinking this is how it must have felt.
I’m definitely having difficulty readjusting to normality even though my normal is really great. But having been pampered for two weeks was so amazing and now Me, Myself and I have only ourselves to do all the work.
Perhaps I should consider living on a cruise ship and consistently traveling around the world. Since I’m not rich, that was a short-lived consideration.