I took the photo included with this post a few days ago while enjoying what worked out to be an about 30-hour mini-vacation with my wife. It’s been a busy year, as I reported in the Behind the Scenes Update over on the ColorMetrix blog, and we haven’t managed to take the two-to-three-day getaways we normally schedule every 90 days or so.
I’ve noticed myself becoming increasingly edgy over the last couple weeks and I think it has to do with not taking those breaks every 90 days as I normally do. So when the opportunity presented itself to join my wife on one or her work assignments, I jumped at the chance. Turns out, she was staying about 30 minutes from Newport, RI, and that’s where the picture was taken.
We explored the area for a couple hours and then settled in at an outdoor wharf-side bar for a few hours. We listened to music, watched the sunset and ate some amazing food – almost every dish included lobster. To top it off, we got to watch some US Open coverage and our Brewers beating up on the Red Sox, which they didn’t manage to do the next day when we visited Fenway Park.
The picture reminded me of my teenage summers spent racing small two-person sailboats on Lake Michigan. I then sailed one-person boats well into my 30s on inland lakes. At some point, raising a family and working got in the way of sailing. It’s probably been about 10 years since I’ve been on a sailboat. Even in an intense regatta setting, being on the water is pretty relaxing. Just looking at the image portrayed in this picture reminded me of the importance of downtime.
Take the breaks when you can because six days can turn into six weeks or six months before you know it.