Holiday Brain, Work Emails, and One Very Broken Dishwasher

After three weeks away, I came back from holiday with a relaxed body, a tired brain, and maybe only half of my English vocabulary. Fruitloop was happy to see me again, and I was happy too, but I had to admit: the holiday was too short. It is always too short.

We went camping in France. I booked through Eurocamp, an English company, so on the arrival day and the departure day, I had to speak English. The lady there had a name tag and an English flag, and I thought, “Okay, this couple is maybe from England.” Later she told me she had done this job for seven years, from March until September, and then she goes back to Spain, where she has been living fifteen years. She said most guests are from Germany, some from England, and not so many from France.

I cannot speak French. I speak German and English, and a little bit Russian because I had to learn Russian for four years at school in East Germany. I can still read and write it a little, but when my colleagues speak Russian together in the kitchen, I listen and understand almost nothing.

The English small talk in France made me a little proud. I was also nervous, because the lady spoke very fast. I understand most things, but when people speak quickly, my brain must translate English into German, and then German into English again. Sometimes the words are missing. For example, we forgot our bed sheets. I knew “pillow” and “towel,” but not “sheets.” So before speaking to her, I translated the word.

Then we had another holiday surprise: the dishwasher was broken. A craftsman came the next day, but he had the wrong spare parts. So we had no dishwasher for the whole week. I was the dishwasher. On the second day, I told the children they must dry the dishes before going to the swimming pool. Next holiday, I hope we have a working dishwasher.

The weather was very hot in France, between 28 and 32 degrees. Sometimes we just sat in the camping chairs while our husbands and the children were away. But sitting for four hours and doing nothing was also exhausting. On the last day, we walked around the lake and saw beautiful tree houses and houses on the water. It was nice, but after too much sitting, I think I needed one more week of holiday.

When we came home, the second week was rainy. We wanted to do some things in the garden, but the weather was not good. We had one beautiful Sunday, but the swimming water was only 23 degrees. For me, that is too cold. I need 28 or 30 degrees. Thirty is better.

Then real life came back very quickly. After holiday, there is always so much work. I had many emails, and my supervisor made a folder with everything she had done while I was away. I still had to sort and store everything. But on Monday I met my new colleague. Finally. I was so happy I could cry. We had lunch together, and I have a good feeling. I really hope my work life will become easier now.

This is important because my days are full. I start at 5:40 in the morning. I make lunch for the children. I have maybe twenty minutes of me time with my coffee and breakfast. Then I bring my son to school, drive to the office, work six hours, drive back, and pick him up. On Monday and Wednesday, from seven until nine in the evening, I have two hours for myself. That is my me time.

Fruitloop asked me about work-life balance. I said it means being healthy, productive, and having overall well-being. She explained that it means splitting your time and energy between work, family, rest, hobbies, and play. She looked at my face and knew immediately: I do not have this balance.

My fun activity during the week is darts. That is my me time. This week I also have a tournament on Saturday. Fruitloop helped me with the word “tournament,” because after three weeks of holiday, I forgot many English words. She joked that next holiday she will call me so I must speak English on the phone.

At work, I often use DeepL. It is my best friend. When I must write to colleagues, I write in German, translate it, read the English, and then copy and paste. I try to understand it first, but I still need help. I also think I should watch movies or series in English, but it is not easy. Maybe I will download Duolingo because my son practices English with it. I also have a Kindle, so maybe next holiday I can download an English book.

Fruitloop asked if I feel guilty when I take a break from work. I said I must learn not to think about all the emails. I know I have colleagues who can help, but it takes a long time for me to trust that. Sometimes I am a perfectionist. Sometimes I would rather do the work myself because then I know it is ready.

In my old hotel job, I was always available. Now I am learning that sometimes I finish at two o’clock, and then I am not available until the next day. But I also create stress for myself. Sometimes I work longer because I want to finish all the emails, so I do not have too much the next morning. Since Monday, I know my new colleague will take the afternoon orders, and that already feels very, very nice.

At the end, Fruitloop asked what skill I need to relax. I think I need to be consistent. I need to shut my brain down, but that is not easy. When I stop thinking about work, I start thinking about cooking, cleaning, laundry, homework, beds, and everything else. The work never ends.

So I thought maybe I need a spa treatment to reset. Maybe alone. Maybe far away. Maybe even South Africa. But sadly, I do not think the health insurance will pay for that flight.

For now, I will start smaller: darts, coffee, maybe an English book on my Kindle, and hopefully, next holiday, a functional dishwasher.