Well, that’s it.  Done.  Party’s over.  Back to work.  And just as I was hitting my sabbatical stride. Although it was probably about time. To be honest, I’d kind of run out of fun things to do at -15C in the middle of January in the middle of a pandemic.  Six months has come and gone in the blink of an eye. Cliché, but true. It’s yet another difficult reminder of how fast life goes. 

I did use my last week to try to accomplish something new though.  I was feeling inspired by the latest audio book I’ve been “reading” (by David Goggins – Navy Seal, ultra-marathoner and general bad-ass…).  To be clear, by inspired, I mean made to feel like a weak and lazy waste of skin.  So, I took it as a bit of a challenge.  In a very small display of mind over matter, I went out jogging every day.  I’m happy to chase a soccer/tennis/basketball for hours, but I strongly dislike jogging just for the sake of jogging. Admittedly I’ve only been doing about 5km at a time, but now cumulatively in the month of January I’ve death-marched over 50km.  Still don’t love it, and I don’t think it’ll stick, but I do at least plan to knock off a 10k race before I move on. Hardly worthy of writing my own inspirational audio book about, but whatever…

Anyways, I’ve been continually putting off this day of reckoning where I now step back and look deep inside myself to figure out what I’ve learned and whether it was actually worth it.

For starters, I’m pleased with some of my personal health accomplishments. I’m now in the best shape of my life. I feel rested. I’m a happier and more patient person.  Less stressed.  I look good. That being said, I was hoping to see a reversal of the greying of my hair, or at least a slowing of that pace.  No luck. Turns out that wasn’t just because of work.  More because I’m just getting old(er).

I am disappointed that there were a couple of things on the list that I didn’t get to.  Hard to explain why.  Seemed like I had lots of time, but the days still somehow flew by.  For example, my guitar didn’t even make it out of its case.  And I didn’t do as much reading as I thought I might have, although I did knock off quite a few audio books while I drove, walked, ran or worked out, but it’s not quite the same.  I didn’t do any “real” writing of my own either.  Years ago, after reading the same crappy children’s books over and over again at nap-time, I was convinced that I could easily write and illustrate the next great “Goodnight Moon”.  But I’m just not in that toddler headspace anymore.  And lastly, while I’ve got a few great tattoo ideas ready to go, the recent pandemic restrictions have put the kibosh to that… for now.

The most important thing though, is that I keep the momentum going on the lifestyle changes I’ve made and don’t fall back into the same old ruts. A sabbatical is more than just an employment status, it’s a state of mind and a way of life (bumper sticker?!).  And I plan to keep on keeping on.

So, was it worth it?  Could I have just done everything I did during evenings and weekends and still collected a paycheck?  Maybe some of it, but I really needed the catalyst and the space to hit the reset button. Although I still cringe a bit when I think of the cost… But, you can’t put a price tag on all the extra time I got to spend with my “beautiful” family, and just as importantly, with myself!

However, it’s time to earn an honest living again.  And as I didn’t come up with any great insights or inspiration on other exciting career paths to explore, it’s back to “working for the man”.  A corporate stiff.  A suit.  I guess I’ve learned that’s who I am.  The bohemian life just isn’t for me… although I faked it pretty well there for the past few months with my artsy painting, homemade bread baking, meditative yoga and occasional cannabinoid medication…

All in all, best thing I’ve done in a very long time. But now on to the next chapter.  A little older and a whole lot wiser.

Ciao amici.

PS: Not sure how long this blog thing lasts out there in the interweb (probably only as long as I keep paying someone somewhere for this domain name), but hopefully if anyone ever does read this, if not mildly entertained they are at least slightly inspired to try the sabbatical dad life, if only for a little while…