Much Needed Break.

I don’t know about you, loyal readership, but I am in dire need of the upcoming three-day weekend. Work has been good, but I’m deeply unfocused today. As I was the latter half of yesterday. I’m having trouble not counting my grant-chickens. I need to relax and let things go and be at ease. One of the things that we are striving for, in AA, almost universally, is serenity. I’m not a huge fan of the word, but I understand and hunger after the concept. I long to feel at ease, peaceful. Tranquil. Maybe that’s the word. I am seeking emotional tranquility.

I write that with the same fingers that wrote about loving the rollercoaster of grant submission. It’s complicated, I guess. But emotional tranquility does not, I think, preclude highs and lows. It means that I understand and accept them, as part of life, part of being, without them running away with me. Without distress. Emotional slopes are understandable and inevitable. Emotional crises, I think, are not. A well-prepared mind and heart can manage through the swales of trial without panic and frantic grasping.

I have simple plans of seeing friends and spending time engaging in fitness activities and maybe going to the zoo. I have a dinner date planned too, at a restaurant near my apartment that I haven’t tried yet, but which has an excellent reputation. Mostly, I’m just looking forward to the time. It’s likely to be cool and rainy in ECC. It’ll be good to spend time indoors.

Here at MECMC, I get fewer vacations than I did at my old position. We only get 7 holidays instead of 10. So, fewer three-day weekends. Because of how Christmas and Independence Day fall, it’s only 4 this year. The difference between 4 three-day weekends and 7 three-day weekends is huge, from a rejuvenation point of view. For me, a three-day weekend is an incredible luxurious feeling. And it’s deeply needed to restore my mental focus.

So, I asked my boss if I could take July 5th off. I don’t like taking time my first year, but this is only one day. And it gives me a four-day break. I won’t take a real vacation until I’ve been here a year or so. But a day here or there around a holiday to get a 4 day weekend? I think I can do that. I need to do that. I won’t be much good to anyone if I don’t make time for myself. People in academia talk a lot about work/life balance. Well, this is mine. I need time off. I need to travel. I need to see the people I care about deeply. So that’s what I’ll do. This weekend. And in July.