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Settling back in
Five weeks. It’s been five weeks since I’ve returned to reality after a glorious six month break. It’s all a bit surreal, having left work behind and come back to it in the middle of a global pandemic. I’m sure there are people in my company who I only deal with on rare occasion who don’t even know I’ve been away. I had left my computer and work phone in my office, so I wouldn’t be tempted to “just check” on how things were going, so I got up bright and early on the first day and rather than lace… Read more…
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Back to reality
And just like that, it’s over. I’m feeling a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz today, except when click my heels together three times tomorrow morning, it will be back to work for me. Six months has flown by and I can hardly remember the fear – and excitement – that accompanied the beginning of my sabbatical at the beginning of March when I closed down my laptop and work phone and left them on my desk in the office. For the first few weeks, I eschewed alarm clocks, routine and the newspaper. I slept (a lot!), read… Read more…
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The half-way point
Time is ticking away. I’m cognizant that Sabbatical 2.0 has hit the halfway mark. I’m amazed that we’re here already. It’s going very quickly. Sabbatical 1.0 was only set for four months and I can’t imagine going back to work in just four weeks. Fortunately, I negotiated in an extra couple of months into the new-and-improved version, so I’m not staring that date in the face just yet. So how’s it going? Despite being basically stuck at home, I’m loving it. I’m writing, I’m reading and I’m even getting many of those “I’m too busy to do it” jobs ticked off… Read more…
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Two weeks in…
It’s here. It’s finally here. This period of time I’ve talked about wanting forever. A stretch of a few months to devote to creativity. To writing. To storytelling. To trying to put enough words on paper that people might actually not hate. I’m under no illusions I’m writing the “great Canadian novel”. My ideas are lighter. Fluffier. They probably fall in the “beach read” category. I’m okay with that. They say to write what you know, and I haven’t lived a life full of spies, intergalactic travel or time machines. They also say the first draft of any book is… Read more…
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A plan without a plan
A few days ago, a friend of mine posted a quote on FaceBook from Mandy Hale that struck me. “You don’t always need a plan,” the blogger turned author wrote. Sometimes you need to just breathe, trust, and see what happens.” It seems particularly appropriate this week, as I’ve got “Sabbatical 2.0” as I’m calling it, papered over at work. While it clearly wasn’t meant to happen in 2020, 2021 is my year – one way or another. At this time last year, I was almost vibrating with excitement. I had my plane ticket booked and my flat booked. I’d told old… Read more…
