Things You Discover on a Day Off

Been working too hard lately, so I took my kids away for a couple of days. I missed them in the way you can live in the same house but not really be "there."

I discovered my Oldest Son can do math calculations in his head with numbers and multiplication up to 50 MILLION. That's 50,000,000. In his head. Without having to stop and appear to think about it. Just . . . like I add 2 + 2.

I discovered he also loves prime numbers.

I didn't know these things.

I also discovered the reason he likes playing video games is he can stop thinking about math for a while. Same reason he's absent-minded in school. He's too busy thinking about numbers.

That's the thing with taking a day off. You give it a rest. You discover new things that have nothing to do with work. You discover things about you . . . and your family that maybe you didn't know.

On vacation, I actually usually take stock. I decide... "This isn't working for me, time to try something new." Or I think about goals. But in a way that's less a to-do list and more about dreaming.

Because life, for all of us, can get to be about to-do lists and bank accounts and the mind-numbing routine . .. and not about the stuff that makes us happy.

I decided I'm not connecting with my kids enough in meaningful ways. I feel BAD that I didn't know what my son can do. Or maybe it's so normal to him, he didn't think to mention it. Either way, last night made me sad . . . and I need to make sure I connect. Maybe I would never have known just how high he can calculate if we didn't sit out on a swing and look for stars.

It's good to shake up the routine once in a while. So. . . what does vacation look like to you? And is it a break from WRITING or do you ever really and truly get away from it, being as you carry around the stories in your head anyway?

Reality Show Continues

Today I am headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller Center, and general walking around Manhattan. We are eating bagels. Salted bagels. Oldest Daughter wants to haggle with the guys on the street who sell the illegal knock-offs of Gucci and Chanel. Ahhh, New York City.

I usually stop by St. Patrick's Cathedral. I'm no longer a Catholic, but . . . you know, a few candles lit in a cathedral to my deceased grandparents is good for the soul. Then I can go sit on the steps of the NYC Public Library by the big lions and sip some Starbucks.

Actually, I'm keeping an insane schedule. Tomorrow I drive almost to Canada. I am sleeping on a couch. Demon Baby is still waking at 5:00 a.m. But guess what? I didn't bring work

I actually am . . . GASP . . . taking a vacation. Scary.

But here's the thing . . . I am still THINKING about my works in progress. But instead of the sort of weary/I have too many deadlines attitude of a couple of days ago, I am energized. Excited about my manuscripts. LOOKING FORWARD to getting back to them this weekend.

Yes, I am thinking about them, but this forced break of bagels and the streets of Manhattan is doing me some good. There is something to be said for giving yourself a forced break from work.

Anyone else? Courting burnout? Taking a break? How do you know when it's time to recharge and what do you do to get energized again?