Time Off

These past few days have been such a blessing. This year has been marked with getting on and off airplanes, meetings with customers, training reps in the new world order, going, going, going. Last Friday afternoon, I unpacked my business laptop, turned off my business phone, plugged it in, and have (mostly) ignored the inclination to check it all see what is going on. I have taken "time off" for what will end up being 10 days. And I am loving it.

Here are a few things I have discovered:

I don't really sleep enough. My body has gotten used to caching sleep in 4 hour segments. To illustrate this, I am posting a blog at 6AM, I have been up since 4AM, I woke up twice from 10PM to 4AM. Twice during this time off my bride made me take a nap. Both ended up being two hour, dead-to-the-world, waking up disoriented, type of naps. They were also incredibly refreshing. I probably can't change my sleep patterns, but recognizing the need is something. Right? I also have found the fun in staying up a bit and then crawling back into bed to snuggle for a little bit. No flights to catch, no conference calls, no agenda. Simply crawl back in and try not to wake my bride who is, by the way, a champion sleeper.

Then we get into those silly meandering conversations that two life partners of almost 40 years get into. We were just waking up and each mentioned that we both had weird dreams. We were laughing about it being the paint and glue fumes from having our master bath redone over the previous couple of days. I said, "Well, don't touch the pretty blue flower on the stove." She had no idea what I was talking about. Then trying to describe the anti-drug film in health from 7th or 8th grade, only confused her more. For the next couple of days I tried to find someone else who had seen the film about the effects of doing drugs and received only blank looks for my explanation. Apparently all the other school systems were running sex-ed films trying to keep their young girls from getting pregnant. Don F, John W, and I had to try and figure all that sex stuff out on our own while camping as 16 year olds...as the line from Dumb and Dumber..we were way off. Somewhere along the line, though, we figured it out, since we are all leading a pack of kids, grandkids, and three very patient and understanding, and possibly a bit bewildered wives.

I am a sentimental old fool.  I am replacing my old worn-out 2000 Ford Ranger, the survivor of a deer attack (see blog from a couple of years ago) , a daughter's stint in college, and the effects of 256,000 miles. Like all of us, her paint is coming off, the electrical system doesn't work very well, and she clunks and clanks and moans and groans as the miles pile up. We need something dependable, and Miss Rojo is no longer that. So it is with bitter-sweetness that I look at the shiny new trucks and try to find a worthy replacement. Sigh.

Godspeed to all the folks out there who have some time off to reflect, to rest, to refresh during these days. It is 6:30, I think I will sneak back in and snuggle a bit. 
Don