I’m aware this is privileged and pathetic but…

I've recently come back from a 3 week holiday and also feel very disgruntled. Part of it for me is coming back to this shitty weather. Wearing dresses for 3 weeks and now horrible. I'm just looking forward to the next one which isn't long as retired. All this election talk too is depressing.

We use 5 baskets and a clothes rail to assist

Wash dry
Fold into baskets
1 x each person
1 x house stuff (bedding/tea towels etc)
Basket in bedroom of owner
Owner of hanging stuff removed from rail.

Smaller children assisted with putting away (by 8 ish mine could do their clothes)

Rules of engagement. One up, all
up i.e. it’s a team effort and no one sits down until we all sit down.

Your life sounds hard work OP (I studied my professional exams when the kids were small
and never stopped each night until 9.30pm - hard yards)

I'm with you on putting clothes away!! It's a job i deteste, as evidenced by my mountain on the kitchen table- dp said they'll soon be selling tickets for walking tours on it! ((he doesn't live with me before anyone says get him to put them away). That and once I've decluttered actually getting the bags to the tip are my two down falls.

Seriously though, I feel like this after a holiday. Back to the mundane work and home life. I miss having someone come in and clean up after me, cook and make my bed. I've noticed with each holiday I'm getting more anxious about going back to work. So I've asked for condensed days, I'm waiting to hear the outcome!

Was it your first time to Disney with the kids, OP? There might be some extra sadness that this wonderful thing you’ve been planning for your babies is over and even if you rebook you won’t have that first moment again.

When my DTs were 4 we did an amazing Disney trip for 3 weeks including the Disney cruise. It was magical. They’re nearly 16 now and I still think about that trip and feel a tug of sadness!

Also, laundry loads should be done by person not colour or load type. It makes folding and putting away so much easier.

I remember once driving round the SW of the US for a month, arriving 24 hours late at Manchester and phoning a friend from the train to get me from a station near school to be able to attend a training day. I think I actually fell asleep at one point though that wasn't unusual for a training day! The best part of returning home is my own bed.

This really doesn’t sound like post holiday blues (is that even a thing?) It sounds like you’re generally tired, stressed, unmotivated and the holiday was a brief distraction.

I wouldn’t focus on the next holiday but on making changes to your ordinary life.

Well, it just seems strange to have such a strong reaction after this kind of holiday, and reading other posts from the OP, there's a lot more going on.

Well what are you whinging for then? You've got a phone and an internet connection, and I assume Terry Taliban isn't about to drag you out of the roofless mud hut you live in and frisbee you off the top of Kajaki damn for speaking in the tongue of the infidel? No? Well you've nothing to complain about then, have you. You've got a hell of a lot more than millions of other women have after all...

You see how this works, right? There's always gonna be someone who's got more than we have, and there's always gonna be someone with less, but everyone's experience is subjective and just because someone on what we perceive as the greener side of the fence is struggling with something doesn't mean you should attack them for it or that they're bad people. We'd be enraged if we had to queue for 45 minutes to get to the till in ASDA, but how many would say "Actually I'm thrilled to have the chance just to be in a queue! 24 people got blown up by a car bomb at the vegetable market in Sadr city last week, so it doesn't matter that I'll be late to pick the kids up!" - does that mean we're bad people and deserve to be kicked when we're down?

Well I like shows, restaurants and rides so yep, for an adult too. Adults are allowed to enjoy things that aren't spas and operas too.

For an adult, though?

Not Disneyland, Disney World... Which has Broadway level productions, some of the most technologically advanced rides and award winning restaurants. Holidays don't have to be "exotic" to be full of interesting and amazing things.

Yes, it surprised me too that this was triggered by Disneyland rather than some exotic location with interesting and amazing new things to see and do. This confirms it's not about returning from a holiday.

My mind is blown by the fact this has been triggered by a trip to Disneyland 😅

My kids are too young to know what that is so I’m safe for a couple of years but I’d (wrongly) assumed you’d gone on some luxury, child free holiday rather than the madness that appears to be Disney! Wondering I’ll feel the same way if I’m ever persuaded to go.

I think PP’s are right though and this is a bigger issue of feeling unhappy at home.

I assume you have a roof over your head and food whenever you need to eat. That's more than some people have ATM. I'm sure they would love to be in your shoes.

Book another holiday.

I am fortunate to travel really a lot, I always like up a few social things with my friends the week I get back and that works well.

I think leaving the UK for a trip nowadays puts you at risk of severe holiday blues. The UK has declined so rapidly these last few years that coming back to the depressing sadness that seems to be everywhere is quite overwhelming.

Spending time on a resort where everyone is tanned and glowing with a happiness vibe around them is a stark contrast to the grim reality of being back home. Hopefully it doesn’t last too long and you get used to being back in good old shitey.

It's not the need for a holiday and it's not the washing. Something else is wrong.
Perhaps sit down with your husband and talk through what's troubling you?

Book another one! I booked one while laid the sun lounger on our last day

My thoughts and prayers with you at these difficult times.

I always tried to enjoy my day to day life, not spend all my days looking forward to the weekend, or a holiday. Its a question of attitude, you may not be able to change your job at the moment, but you can change your attitude to it, and your life, live in the moment. Happiness is within you, not somewhere else.

You may just need to re-curate your life.

The main feeling I get in the middle of a holiday is that I can't wait to be back home. Because I've recently changed my lifestyle and honestly no holiday can measure up to it.

Sundays spent at the club reading in the sunshine with coffees etc overlooking manicured gardens and countryside. Massages and meditation. Meeting with friends several times a week. Beautiful clothes, bags, shoes, hairdos. Balls at stately homes. Ballet, opera, theatre, academic discussions.

Disappearing into uninhabited countryside in good company. Sunrise swims in the wild. Cute animals. Picnics in the middle of nowhere. Spontaneous hugs, kisses, sex. Taking an interest in others around you and helping where you can.

I used to live in a plane, always dashing off somewhere more exotic, and actually everything you're looking for can be there in the everyday if you make it happen - and perhaps throw some of the holiday money at it.

It's not the coming back from a great holiday that's the problem, it's the fact that you're not really happy coming back at all and you need to work out why.
I've had some great holidays, but I love coming home!

Can you live a life of steadier emotions re holidays? Always book what you can easily afford, always have the next one somewhat planned before the current one ends? I divide my AL across 4 holidays spread out evenly across the year. Every NY I sit down with my new diary and start to plan them. I don't actually go on expensive holidays because I prioritise other things that make me happier, but the regular time off keeps me steady.