July Sabbatical

Oh blog world, I’ve been away the whole month of July. What’s been going on?

I haven’t taken a full week off of work since we moved back to Iowa (16 months ago). The longest vacation I have been on was last October for 5 days. It takes at least 3-4 days to disconnect from my work and to seriously be “away”.  I work hard. But I also love to play hard. I was at the point in a previous job of complete burnout and total exhaustion and have vowed never to get there again.  The recent months’ fiasco with trying to get time off  when I don’t get to see my friends and family much has been taking a toll on me.  I told my co-workers that I would be taking time off in July & August since I didn’t take time off at the holidays because my family had some things going on. I only worked one week of my regular schedule so far this month. I decided to call my time away, my sabbatical.

I found this definition on  The Sabbatical Coach:

A sabbatical is a period away from your normal routine – a time to immerse yourself in a different environment, a chance to see your life from a different perspective. 

 He also shares four of the reasons people take them. I fall into this category:

Rejuvenation

The third category I see is people who are on track in life and know it. They have a clear sense of their life purpose and see their work as a vocation. Because they are so driven by their passion and purpose, these people are prone to overwork and burn out. For this group the sabbatical is a way to rest and renew so that they can come back to their life’s work reenergized and ready for more.

Here’s how I spent most of July: running a 5k, attended a wedding, camping, playing cards with my parents, running with Dad,  hanging out with Laura (my best friend from high school) and her husband Jeremy, road tripping with Brad, lounging and browsing at Barnes & Noble, eating out with friends, learning how to hunt ghosts, golfing with Brad, hanging in a hot tub, making breakfast with Brad, grilling, sitting by a fire, reading, spending time with Tim and Shannen, drinking (alot of) margaritas with Shannen, teaching everyone we interacted with how to play Up & Down The River, getting my haircut, going to a (great) Twins game, getting acupuncture, downing fertility meds, visiting my counselor, attending my new niece, Emily’s baby shower, hanging with my sister Tiffany, dancing on Jessica’s bar, playing sand volleyball, going to the NASCAR race  in Newton, hitting the casino with my parents, and spending 2 weekends with my nephews. (oh and getting pulled over on the nights I actually did work in July).

Pictures are forthcoming, but I am still alive.