Jet Lag Diaries: The 2:30 a.m. Club

Hey, So this was our first full week back from Japan—and honestly, the biggest thing I can say is... jet lag is no joke. It absolutely hammered me and Holly. I mean, we’ve done some traveling before, but this one hit different.

We got back late Sunday night, around 10 or 10:30, so not crazy late. But we’d been up for about 36 hours straight at that point, so we were just totally wiped. I managed to doze a little bit on the plane, but sleep like that isn’t real sleep, you know? And I don’t sleep well sitting up, so by the time we landed, I was running on fumes.

On top of that, the food situation on international flights is always a bit weird. You’re getting meals at strange hours, and I honestly didn’t love the food options. I probably didn’t eat enough over that 36-hour stretch, so between the exhaustion and lack of calories, we just kind of stumbled through those first few hours back.

We got home, started a load of laundry, and barely unpacked before crashing hard. I think we went to bed around 10:30 or so. Slept okay—not great—but enough to function. I was back at work Monday morning, mostly because I wanted to get ahead of anything that might’ve gone sideways while I was out. Thankfully, no major emergencies, just a few things that needed decisions and direction.

Tuesday night, though—that was the worst of the jet lag. I went to bed thinking I was fine, then woke up wide awake at 12:30 a.m. Tried to lay there and fall back asleep, but after two hours of just tossing and turning, I finally gave up and got out of bed at 2:30 a.m. And that was it—I was up for the day. No nap, no second wind. That one hit hard.

It took a solid four or five days before we really started feeling like ourselves again. Every night, it was a battle to stay up as late as we could just to help reset our internal clocks. And when I say “late,” I mean... we were asking each other at 8:45 if it was too early to go to bed.

The rest of the week was mostly quiet, but not in a bad way. I had our manager meeting on Wednesday, got caught up with the team, and everything seems to be running smoothly. That’s always a good feeling—knowing that even when I’m out, the team’s got it handled.

I also worked on some of my business coaching material on Tuesday. Trying to stay on track with that even when I’m tired or out of rhythm. It’s part of the routine now, and I know the long-term payoff is worth it.

One of the best updates this week: we’re bringing in a bunch of new clients, which is awesome. It’s great to see our work helping more people. That’s always been the mission—helping people who’ve been hurt, making sure they don’t get taken advantage of, and giving them some peace of mind during a tough time.

Outside of work, we’ve been getting ready for Sam’s 21st birthday, which is crazy to think about. Both of my kids are now over 21—how did that even happen? Sam’s a junior in college now, and Holly and I are planning to drive up to see him next week for his birthday. Even though they’re grown and doing their own thing, we still try to show up for birthdays, take them out to dinner, and make sure they know we’re still there.

We’re also still slowly unpacking from Japan. You know how that goes—you get the suitcases open, but the contents kind of sit there for a few days while you find the energy to actually put everything away. Holly bought some clothes while we were there, so she’s been washing those and getting them put up.

She found some really cute pieces you can’t get here—Japan’s fashion scene is wildly different in a fun way. I think she’s excited to wear some of that stuff now that she’s back. It’s always fun bringing home little things that remind you of where you’ve been.

Now that we're settled, I’ve also gotten back into my fitness routine—lifting, eating clean, all that. I’m really happy I didn’t gain weight while we were gone. I couldn’t lift at all during the trip, but I got in a ton of walking—probably 15,000 steps a day. Between sightseeing, navigating train stations, and just exploring, we were constantly on our feet. So jumping back into the gym this week felt good, even if I was a little sore at first.

And here’s something kind of funny—while I was driving from the house to the store this week, I saw what looked like a cherry blossom tree blooming. If you know anything about Japan, you know how big of a deal cherry blossom season is over there. We were a little early, so we didn’t get to see the full bloom, but we saw a few trees starting to pop.

So seeing one blooming here back home just made me smile. It was a reminder of the trip and also kind of ironic. Japan’s full bloom should hit in the next week or two, by the way. If you’ve ever thought about going, try to time it for that—it’s absolutely beautiful and a big cultural moment over there.

Back to Sam—again, he’s turning 21, and I’m stumped on a gift. If anyone has any brilliant ideas for what to get a 21-year-old guy, I’d love to hear them. He’ll definitely want to have a drink when we go out (it’s a rite of passage, right?), but I’d love to get him something meaningful or fun. It’s a tricky age—too old for toys, too young for ties.

Anyway, that’s been our week—recovering from travel, reconnecting at work, and recharging for what’s ahead. No major crises, just getting back into the groove and making progress.

And of course, as always—If you're in pain, call Shane!