I’m back at work today after the customary (and in the case of my company, obligatory) 3 weeks of summer vacation. I spent a week traveling solo around the Scottish highlands, followed by 2 weeks of family vacation, visiting friends in Provence, the Catalan Pyrenees, and the Costa Brava. Since we’re expecting the arrival of daughter #2 around the 1st week of November, this was our last family vacation with just the three of us, and it was great to have the time together.
There’s a phrase in Spanish called the “cuesta de septiembre” (or enero, in the case of Christmas holidays), which refers to the feeling of being back at work after a long break. It’s similar to the “case of the Mondays” of Office Space fame, but since the holidays in Spain tend to come in longer blocks, the phenomenon is more pronounced. I’ve never really suffered that much from it, since what I do in my spare time tends to mesh pretty well with what I do for a living, but this year I have to admit to a little melancholy at seeing our vacation come to an end. Maybe it’s the pervasive mood in Spain at the moment, or the knowledge of the sleepless nights that await us before long, or just a vague and restless itching, but it feels a bit like grudgingly lifting a weight back onto my shoulders after a short respite.
If you’ve ever gone bowling in rented shoes, you may have experienced the sensation of putting your own shoes back on again, and having them feel strange somehow; not comfortable in the way they were when you arrived, but…off, somehow, foreign. The feeling is usually fleeting, but it can leave you with the impression that it may be time for a new pair of shoes.