Nowhere To Go and All Day To Get There

The title of this post is borrowed from a Kenny Chesney song but the sentiment perfectly describes my attitude this week.  I’m writing this in the family room of a beach house in Corolla, NC, with a view of the Atlantic Ocean in one direction and Currituck sound and a golf course in the other.  One of my travel partners is taking a late morning siesta at this moment, the other four are riding bikes in the neighborhood and I’m enjoying the solitude.

Sometimes I don’t realize how busy and stressful work is till I disconnect from it for a week.  Today is Thursday and I have given almost no thought to work since Sunday.  I love my job but I have to admit, which I rarely do, that it is stressful.  Fun, but stressful.  Part of why I am so relaxed right now is that I haven’t heard my alarm clock for four days; sunrise peeking through my bedroom curtain has been my wake up call, which I chose to ignore each morning after a brief acknowledgement of it.  The alarm, a ringing phone and the ding from office email has been replaced by the ebb and flow of the ocean and the fairly constant breeze that Wright brothers experienced in 1903 just thirty miles from where I am sitting.  The sight of a computer monitor has mostly been replaced by blue skies, green trees, tan sand and blue-gray ocean water.  Conversation about promotional strategies and creative commercial scripts have been replaced by topics like seafood, 10k runs, growing up, this year’s beach house versus last year’s.  Scheduling conference calls and meetings have given way to scheduling meals, beach time and shopping.

I wish I had my home blood pressure thing with me because I bet the numbers are lower than they are at home.  I am so relaxed right now that I don’t even care that I had donuts for breakfast this morning, which I never do at home. Leftover lasagna is on our lunch menu today, Mexican food and margaritas are planned for dinner.  Wine and live music is our tentatively-scheduled desert, should we choose to pay any attention to a schedule at all.

Americans do not take enough vacation; many don’t use all that is available.  I am eligible for more with my current job than with any previous job and I do take every vacation day coming to me.  I don’t always get to enjoy a beach week, but I do try to make the most of time off.  Vacation is a psychological recharge and time off makes us stronger when we return to work.  I think my bosses realize that and fortunately for me, they respect my time off and refrain from contacting me except for emergencies.  Luckily, there have been none this week.

Another topic of conversation the other night was the dream of living here full time.  One of our group of six is retired and could actually do that, but the rest of us cannot, at least not yet.  Would I really want this leisurely beach life full time?  Probably not.  Thanks to technology, however, I could do most of my job right here.  Hmmmmm.