Sometimes taking time off means making more work for yourself when you return from the office reprieve, begging the question, ‘Is it worth it?’ Of course it is.
Less than 10 minutes back from my vacation and I’m weeding my way through nearly 350 e-mails and a smattering of phone messages. A stack of mail sits on the corner of my desk, and the looming deadline of this week’s edition hangs every so gingerly over my head. Is it already time for another vacation?
For a minute, I question my decision to escape the hustle of bustle of the newspaper world for a four-day jaunt to the coast. I wonder, if the work simply accumulates while I’m gone, is it really worth leaving?
That thought, however, doesn’t last very long at all.
Then I remembered the four glorious days free from my Blackberry, without an agenda and miles away from yard work, house work and work work. I remember basking in the 80-degree sunshine, showering my tastebuds with the best seafood I could find and generally enjoying the freedom of time to myself.
It was, by most accounts, a very nice getaway, and much-needed.
I return a refreshed man, ready to face the news world again, and just in time for the end of summer and the start of what will almost assuredly be another busy year in the schools.
In many respects, the entire summer is something of a vacation, with a general lull in news as students take a well-deserved break from their studies and families often take the opportunity to travel or enroll their children in summer camps.
The end of summer — though a painful concept for those students who have gotten used to sleeping late, or those who have slipped out of their normal study habits and school-related routines — is fast approaching. Many will soon cash in the last of their vacation days, at least until the holidays roll around.
But now, refreshed and refocused, is the best time to look ahead with excitement to the challenges that lie ahead, be they school, work or life related. With a little vacation rest under our belts, we can now face them all head on, at least until our next vacation.
Jonathan E. Coleman
Editor