I was sad when I awoke the last morning of my beach vacation. Soon I became irritable and eventually snippy on the ride home from the beach, which is about 4 1/2 hours away from my home in Zachary.

If I'm to be honest, the car ride home was filled with angst. I didn't want to leave the beach, yet I wanted to return home...fast! It's as though I wanted to rush the inevitable.

I knew what awaited me upon my return: work that had piled up while I was away, lots and lots of unanswered e-mails and dirty laundry filled with sand...tiny memory-filled particles of sand...

The melancholy story I tell is of a real sickness, it's called post-vacation blues, and boy, do I have it!

My heart literally aches for the blue ocean and waves that were my four walls the past several days. I am as blue as the ocean I just left.

However, there is hope for those who suffer from PTD - post-travel depression. Following are a few tips to help you beat the blues.

Tips for bouncing back from PTD-

•Stay busy! Immerse yourself in your work, your pet or your kids'/spouse's lives.

•Do not stay late to catch up on work you missed while away. Finish what you can in the time allotted in your regular work day, and go home when quitting time comes.

•Journal about your trip.

•Try to find the good in your daily routine, life or job. Remember, it's this daily routine that makes travel so exciting!

•Eat your favorite foods from your trip or make a photo album from your trip. It's dangerous, I know, but it can actually help.

•Finally, the best tip I can offer is...start planning your next trip! Seriously, nothing gets you over the post-vacation blues or PTD like your next vacation!