Transitions

I have had too many transitions in the last three weeks:

Indiana.
Home.
Steve gone.
Sonora.
Home.
Napa.
Home.

Steve leaves Friday for Illinois (Mormon Historical Association Conference) and comes back Sunday while I leave Monday morning for North Carolina.

I have decided that when I am "transitioning" I lose focus on the joy of the journey. I find no joy in coming home after a long trip and doing housework/getting back into the groove makes me angry. I have no idea why.

So since these transitions are not going away anytime soon, I need to come up with a strategy for coping. This is what I have so far:

1) Plan an outdoor activity for the day I get home. If we are out with the kids doing something fun, I can jump right into the enjoyable part of being our family without the drag of feeling like I need to clean.

2) Focus on just playing with the kids and ignore housework (puzzles, reading, crafts, etc.)

3) Come home and focus on doing the cleaning stuff I haven't done for a while--like the stove, behind the fridge, etc., so I can feel that "deep cleaning" satisfaction that you get from those moments.

4) Buy new rap songs on itunes on Fridays so that when I get home I can play it really loudly while I am doing the chores

5) Get through the day and then call friends for a dessert night out

Any other suggestions? Don't say "Sit in your bed and take naps while waking up periodically to read a book and yell at the kids" since that doesn't work. Sadly, I know this.