I am coming down off the roller coaster.
I am singing the post trip blues…
My dog is sleepin in and its raining outside…
I am singing the post trip blues..
I saw Elvis in a Mariachi outfit…
I am singing the post trip blues…
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah…
Its the post trip blues.

Have you ever moped around the house when your vacation is over? Maybe you lose your appetite or you feel tired and grumpy. For me, I tend to walk aimlessly through my home looking for something to entertain me. Often I am drawn to the pantry and find comfort in a bag of potato chips. Apparently its normal to feel sad after a big trip is over. Its called Post Travel Depression and the longer the trip or vacation, the longer the blues and the more potato chips ( I added the last part).

Every time I take a trip with Compassion, I find myself feeling depressed after the trip is over. I had this amazing experience that tapped into all my emotions and I bonded with my fellow travelers who shared these experiences with me. These are the peeps that witnessed the singing bunny with me and the outrageous lounge singer who appeared to be like Elvis dressed in a Mariachi costume. Certainly his pants had to have cut off his circulation to his brain.

There is a bonding that happens between people when the only place to pee is on the other side of a thin curtained outhouse that hangs off the side of a cliff. You share tears together over the stories of children who have suffered such hardship. Your share tears for your fellow travelers as you learn about their struggles over the loss of a child. Then there is the bus ride together on the long, bumpy, curvy roads. Then there is the one who pukes on the bus ride. We are all in it together. It’s bonding, it’s experience and it’s always hard to come back to reality and expect others to understand the intensity of the roller coaster ride. All they can do is see the pictures, but they can’t feel the ride.

The treatment for Post Travel Depression, according to Wikipedia.org, is to share your experiences with family and friends. This certainly explains the 2 hour slide shows on Missionary Sunday with missionaries who spent 2 weeks in Madagascar studying the ancient rituals of the Malagasy tribes and detailed out 2000 years of historical facts that contributed to the tribes cultural practices. Well, I am not going to try not to subject my family and friends to the 2 hour slideshow, but the blog sure helps. Another remedy for Post Trip Depression is time. In general the blues will wear off after time but it can take 1.5 times the length of the trip.


The one thing I don’t want to wear off is the images of the children. Each trip changes me. I hear that one story that forever sticks in my mind and inspires through my tough days or causes me to change the way I spend money. Sometimes it just keeps me praying. The children remind me of the fact that we have a big God who loves us no matter what, who cares about the details of our lives, who wants to hear our words even though

He knows our thoughts. He is a God who heals the sick, He is a God who brings us joy and laughter, He is a God who understands sacrifice. He is the God who knit us together and cares how we feel. These are lessons that I have learned on these trips.

For today, I feel a little blue that this trip is over, but its good to know there is another adventure around the corner. I just don’t know what it is yet!

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_vacation_blues