Vacation Unpacking List
We’ve done a lot of traveling this summer. It was a stretch and also refreshing. I’ve gotten more efficient at packing and hate it a little bit less. But what do you do when you get home and there is loads of stuff everywhere, laundry, toys, sand? You’ve heard of a packing list. But what about unpacking? Doesn’t everything just go back to where it came from? Sort of and also not exactly- here’s why.
Sure you can just put things back it might take a day or a week. But one piece of unpacking that you might miss is unpacking the emotional and social baggage we’ve accumulated. What about the experiences and memories you’ve had? Here are three things you can do with your family when you arrive home from a trip that can help everyone re-enter home life. (No photo album required!)
Talk with your children about what they loved the most from your time away? You can also ask them what they didn’t like.
Ask them what sounds, smells and sights they remember the most?
After talking together maybe at a meal or bedtime, say together “we are different now.”
Time away changes us in ways we can’t quite explain. We have been touched by different sounds, sights, qualities of nature and people, often loved ones. Our nervous systems are different, hopefully more regulated and relaxed. Acknowledging this transition helps children feel safe-that what they sense is real. That they feel different, and we do too.
So next time you arrive home, remember that unpacking is also about integrating memory, senses and entering your “home life” with more intention and awareness.
