Help! I need a vacation to recover from vacation. It has been nearly two weeks after returning from a two week long vacation with my family to Atlanta and I am still feeling slightly weary. Admitedly we pushed it a bit, ripping and running every single day while we were there from early in the morning until late at night. Still, I wonder, would having that much fun for twelve days straight sandwiched between two days of road travel have left me equally as exhausted had I been twenty years younger? Oh, and while I'm at it, I guess I should go ahead and question whether being twenty,okay twenty-five, pounds lighter might have made a difference as well.

The interesting thing is that I didn't seem to be unusually affected by walking around Six Flags all-and I do mean ALL-day long in triple digit heat. Like everyone else from age five to age sixty and beyond I sweated buckets, fried under the Georgia sun, welcomed the splash of every water ride and enjoyed the heck out of myself. I didn't seem to be unusually affected by long-and I mean LONG-days spent splashing and swimming in the pool. Like everyone else, I enjoyed every minute, played Marco Polo a million times, and took time to relax poolside. Visting the Georgia Aquarium was an experience that was absolutely incredible and negotiating the throngs of visitors and the hoardes of families and children was a piece of cake. I could go on and on about everything that we did and how much we enjoyed it all in the moment.

No, I didn't "feel my age" while we were actually enjoying our vacation. I didn't pile into bed at night creaking and groaning. In fact, I found myself feeling pretty smug about how well this older mom was holding up and enjoying it all. It was after we returned, unpacked, washed, put away luggage, went through the mail, paid bills, threw out old newspapers, settled in for horseback riding lessons, and generally resumed the rhythm of our so-called regular lives that I began to feel the physical fatigue descend upon me like a creeping fog.

At first I complained bitterly that I must be "coming down with something" and then I realized that the only thing I was coming down with was vacation fatigue. Since surrendering to that reality and slowing way down (no bounding out of bed at 7:00 in the morning, minimal housework only, no evening walks for the past two weeks, very little in the way of real cooking, no grocery store shopping) I've started to feel better, but I am not quite back to myself yet. I figure that by the time school starts, I'll be just fine and by then I'll be ready to tackle--holiday planning and Christmas shopping! Oh, joy.