August 6th, 2004
Home Again Post-Vacation Blues
The garden looks trashed, like a house the morning after a big party.
When I arrived home at 4 this morning, I slipped out into the moonlit garden even before disturbing the sleeping boys with my “I’m home”. Plants looked bigger, the grass was longer, and the paths a little overrun with weeds.
At dawn I was up with AJM, anxious for a sunlit examination. The garden looks trashed, like a house the morning after a big party. Leaves and small branches blown down by the wind are strewn about. Weeds clamber out of bounds. Grass is tall, but withered (although not too bad for three weeks without water in the middle of summer). One of the cedar elms has dropped a lot a leaves. Is it dying? This week Austin temperatures topped 100 degrees for the first time this year. Many plants looked sunburnt, especially the newly-planted gingko and magnolia. One of the lavender plants along the front walk died. The vitex is completely denuded and a large branch has fallen on the rose ‘Sombreuil’–which was struggling as it was. I’m really not looking forward to cleaning all this up, although I know that once I mow the lawns and pick up tree litter that things will look much better than they do now. Especially if I have a nap first.
by M Sinclair Stevens
December 26th, 2005
I just returned from a week of relaxation, sun and fun in wonderful Ft. Lauderdale beach, Fl. Returning to New Jersey/New York was a major transition for me. The weather upon return to New Jersey was very foggy and gloomy, a huge contrast to my Florida vacation. Within a few hours of my return, I have been suffering from headaches, anxiety, and stress related to returning to work tomorrow and to my daily routine.
After reading articles such as this one, I am much more relieved. I do understand that it is not just me but others experience this as well. I will devote these next couple of days to enjoying myself, thinking positively and making the most of my return.