I’ve been burning it at both ends for quite a while, work, work, husbanding, kids, swimming, swimming practices, training for a big cycling spring, blogging… I got to a point where I was so in need of a break that I wasn’t doing anything well, except maybe cranking out a decent post now and again. I was so busy, I actually considered skipping out on our planned trip to Florida to escape the cold for a week. That’s when I finally knew I was in dire need of a restart.

When we got on the plane, I finally relaxed. I had plenty of work but the bulk of it wouldn’t really get going until I got back and the rest was easy. After my first full day here, and one post, I decided to really vacation… For once. I put my most responsible guy’s number on my voicemail, and that was that.

Beyond the fact that every day since we left has been between 70 and 80 degrees warmer than it is at home, which is super awesome on its own, I’ve been able to ride every day, play tennis twice a day (at least), play some golf (on invite from one of the greatest and nicest golfers ever), I’ve enjoyed the best vacation I’ve had in eight long years. Instead of 25 calls a day, I’m down to maybe three. My guys are taking care of business back home and I’ve had a chance to recharge completely – even though I got a “change of climate” cold right in the middle of it all (as you can imagine, the cold didn’t slow me down, not even a little bit).

The final piece of the puzzle was the blog. I genuinely felt off for not writing more, for not checking out everyone’s posts, for keeping up…but in the end, when I found out that I’d be able to relax about work for once, I decided to go whole hog and do it right.

So, I could apologize for chilling out and slacking, but it was needed. I make a big deal about “to thine own self be true” and the truth is, I needed to not be responsible for just a bit. It was all starting to pile up so that life was becoming a grind and a grind is only fun in the short term… Over several years, it wore in me and that needed to be rectified. With that, it’s back to the cold tomorrow. It’s back to work, but because I was able to finally relax, I’m ready to get back after it – and it won’t be a grind anymore. Thank you God.