Vacation: Is it Worth the Time Away?

Yep, sure enough. The woman behind the (swim) suit is none other than me. I can't believe I posted myself in a swimsuit, but once you reach a certain age, it doesn't matter. I'm never going to win a beauty contest unless my grandkids are the panel judges. Thankfully, they love me just like I am.

This past week I've been on vacation. It was outstanding except now I must return to face folders of customer questions, orders that need my assistance, and emails that are overflowing into next year. This is the first year that I did not sign onto my laptop (OK, maybe I did for one afternoon, but that was it!). Instead I used my iPhone to address emails that needed immediate answers and then would text my staff when I needed them to take care of business.


Quite honestly, this was a test drive to determine how I might be able to operate remotely when away from work for a lengthy period. It was a learning curve to say the least. Not having a wi-fi connection at the lakehouse was difficult. But, it also allowed me to take a "real" vacation. My daughter and husband were so proud of me as I was not on my laptop doing business while on vacation. In the past, I've always wondered if vacations are really vactions anymore. Is it worth taking time off while spending countless hours on the laptop and, even then, returning to a back-log of work?

My answer is YES! When I looked back on the vacation photos, I couldn't help but smile at how much fun I had with my daughter and her family. We made memories that my 7-year old grandson will long remember. This was his first year knee-boarding and as you can see from the picture, he did quite well. I'm certain he'll be skiing by summer's end. I think the highlight of his vacation week was when I took him to a sporting goods store to purchase ski gloves. He thought he was hot stuff out on the lake.

Certainly, there were business issues that needed addressing while I was away. I did the best I could and then let it go. I have a wonderful assistant and staff that worked diligently to get out orders and take care of those things that were in the scope of their knowledge. The rest, well... it had to wait. It had to wait while I took one week out of my 16 hour, 365 day a year job. Business was on hold while I fished, swam, sat by the lake fire, ate popcorn, watched grandkids slop ice cream all over their faces and clothes, watched movies, played Go Fish, and hugged and loved on my grandkids like there was no tomorrow.

Vacation: Is it worth the time away? You bet!