I LOVE travel. In the past 2 weeks, I’ve been blessed enough to add 3 more stamps to my passport. It’s been so wonderful, but it’s also been nuts! Those like me with chronic illnesses know a trips costs us more than just airfare, hotel, and meals.
I’ve never had a fibro flare on a trip. I truly believe that *joy* is an effective medicine. I’m somehow able to do more, play more … eat more! The return home is so rough, though. That’s when I have to pay that extra “cost” of travel, and it’s expensive! My arthritis is terribly painful. My fatigue is totally debilitating. I’m very sad.
I know this about travel, and since I’m a proactive person, I do everything I can to combat it. It’s super important to plan for being back home. Here are some ideas to help with that return:
- Stock your freezer with easy, healthy meals.
- Clean your house.
- Wash your sheets.
- Have enough clean clothes at home to get you through 2 days.
- Set out comfy clothes.
- Set out your work outfit.
- Stage your bathroom with candles and matches, bubble bath, aromatherapy, a big squishy towel, and a paperback novel.
- Stage your couch with a bed pillow and your favorite blankie and have a delicious healthy snack (like wasabi and soy flavored almonds!), a couple DVDs, and your remote control within reach and ready. Maybe a bottle of wine with a corkscrew and a glass would be something you’d like.
- Buy yourself a fun little present to come home to. I vote Legos.
- Clear your to-do list, and put nothing on it for the day or 2 after you come back.
- See if a neighbor or a pal can pick up your dog from the sitter so your best friend is already there when you get home.
- Get a nice special treat for your dog to cozily nibble on.
Anything else? See what you can think of! No one knows you better than you. And you deserve to be treated like a king or a queen … so that’s how you should treat yourself. I can tell you I’m utterly spoiled, because I spoil myself!
