refreshing...

thesaurus.com says this about "refreshing"...

Main Entry: refresh
Part of Speech: verb
Definition: make like new; give new life

Synonyms:
brace, breathe new life into, bring around, brush up, cheer, cool, enliven, exhilarate, freshen, inspirit, jog, modernize, prod, prompt, quicken, reanimate, recreate, regain, reinvigorate, rejuvenate, renovate, repair, replenish, restore, resuscitate, revitalize, revive, revivify, stimulate, update, vivify


Many months ago I started thinking about what I'd do over my work sabbatical. This most amazing employment benefit (which most companies don't even consider)! It's a rockin' benefit that we stick around for in our firm. And then after we return to work - most of us keep stickin' around for the next sabbatical!

Here's the nitty-gritty details on our benefit (without all the legal garb stated in our employment contract):

- After 7 years of full-time service at our firm employees receive a 6-week paid time-off sabbatical (yes, in addition to our regular vacation days)
- After an additional 5 years of service, we earn this same benefit again...
- And after an additional 5 years of service... yes, you guessed it!

So, this is my 2nd sabbatical! What does that tell you? I've been with the company over 12 years... in fact, this May I will have been at the company for 13 years! That's a long time. And I still love what I do...

You might ask what I did on my first sabbatical? Well... check out these links...

Honeymoon in Florence and West Coast Road Trip
(We had a great time... and now our coffee table holds some pretty hefty scrapbooks to prove it!)

So, what will I do for THIS time off? How do I WANT to spend this time? How should I make the most of this time? Will I go somewhere? Stay at home and be productive?

Since my hubby's job just changed he can't really take any time-off right now. So I started another list: what I want to do in my free time. Take a nap every day, do my daily exercises, get a massage, try out some new recipes, be crafty, read a good book or two, have lunch with a few friends and do a bit of deep-cleaning around the house. (We're also putting our house up for sale... so I'm packing, de-cluttering, shredding, purging, making trips to storage... the lists goes on.)

While most days off are spent relaxing... this sabbatical time is a time of renewal and refreshing. And that involves a little bit of fun play and a little bit of hard work... wait a minute, isn't that the point?! Can it be possible that these sabbaticals were created to help us find some work/life balance?!

Play a little, work a little... it's all part of the process. Isn't that just how life goes...