Week 4. It’s been almost a month since I last logged on to the work network and email volume is down to a slow trickle. This is officially the longest stretch that I’ve ever been off.  It’s taken ’till now to shake the constant feeling (guilt?) that I need to be working. And I’ve definitely noticed a change in my demeanor. More relaxed and patient (although my oldest son may not fully agree with this assessment).  

Another great week of family vacation at the lake. Highlights include:

The quest for the wakesurf 360. This continues to be the elusive holy grail move on the wakesurf board. Everyone is close(ish) and wants family bragging rights for landing the first one. To that end I went out and bought my own board this week, better suited for the “husky gentleman”. Despite not working, I still have the financial means to buy my way to victory over the kids. Tune in next week for the results (smart money is still betting on my daughter).

Windsurfing. Brought my 1988 hot pink Mistral windsurfer out of retirement (for full disclosure, I only bought it 5 years ago on Kijiji, used it once, and it’s been in the garage ever since, as the thing proved to be much harder to ride than I remember when I was 15.)  My oldest son saw it and thought it looked cool.  After 30 minutes to assemble it and about 5 minutes of trying to ride it, he concluded the same thing.  This may be the reason this sport has been on the decline since the 80’s. Unrelated, but freestyle ballet skiing also peaked at the 1988 Calgary Olympics… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvk4PpFORD4

Daughter’s birthday party. It’s a much-anticipated annual celebration at the lake with many branches of the family tree in attendance. It’s always special, but 13 is a big one. It’s yet another reason why I’m doing this sabbatical now, as I’m afraid that we’ll soon lose her temporarily to the teenage years and the “troubles” that they bring… Happy birthday sweetheart!

P.S. The day was definitely not about me, but I would note that my new specialty summer cocktail, Spicy Watermelon Margaritas, was a hit with the adults at the party…

Don’t forget to follow our fun on Instagram: @sabbaticaldadjon