I spend a lot of time working. A LOT. Much more than my family would like. I work more than 40 hours a week, and then I still find time to turn around and work on my fiction. And then there’s social media… I love talking with all of you. My family doesn’t always appreciate that, though. And my household chore list is woefully long because of my hours. But I digress…
After all that computer time, the eyes get tired, the body gets sore, and the mind gets muddled. At least, that’s what happens to me. And after several months of that? I’m pretty useless to anyone.
At work or at home.
That’s why I jumped at the chance to vacation at a private beach. Two weeks, surf and sand and silence. Lovely!
I didn’t expect to have no Internet or cell service, though. I admit, that gave me anxiety for a while. But then I embraced the concept. It was like my childhood again. I wasn’t attached to any tech. It was liberating.
Yeah, my kids didn’t necessarily agree, but I needed the downtime. The sunny days, the lull of the waves… how could anyone not love that? (tweet the thought if you agree)
Then Tropical Storm Bill hit. We lost power. We lost beach days. But we still had fun. Card games, jigsaw puzzles, old stories… It was wonderful. And yes, I think even the kids enjoyed it.
And then I came home, where I found over 4,000 emails had backed up, my company had reorganized, and my work had piled up. And the anxiety came right back.
But I was able to better deal with it. Because I had rested, recharged, refocused.
I’d go back to my private paradise in a heartbeat. But I’m glad to be home. Back in the familiar. Back with my characters. Back with you.
My novel Bleeding Heart will be coming out soon. And now I’m around to actually talk about it, so that’s exciting. Visit often; I’d love to talk about it with you.
What about you? What do you do to recharge? Do you have a favorite activity? Or a favorite place to visit? Tell me about it.
In the meantime, if you can’t get to the beach, maybe you’ll enjoy a few pictures from my trip.
You sound like you deserve a month off Staci. Honestly I don’t know how you manage it all. Beach time for me is time to unwind and I usually come up with story ideas when I am there. All the best with the next novel you really are an inspiration.
I love all the great pics Staci ~ thanks for sharing 🙂 Sounds like you had a ton of fun. I’d love to have a vacation this summer… but with Murray recently laid off from his job, we’ll be sticking close to home and exploring our options… not so fun right now ;(
I’m excited to read your newest novel… read the blurb. Sounds so interesting! Love the cover by the way – where do you do your book covers Staci? I’m trying to figure out my cover for my book right now too.
Thanks for sharing your fun… sounds so interesting!
I love the occasional road trip. When I go on vacation, and it doesn’t matter where we go, I don’t do email, or social media. I prefer to sit back, relax and read, or just sit. I have been fortunate enough to take many vacations with my family before the social media craze. Now when we go, we make an effort not to be overcome by social media. I still make calls, send texts, if I didn’t my mother would worry. Other than that, we have more than enough to do than to worry about what we might be missing.
The trip pictures are nice. Thanks for sharing.
If you don’t call, Mom will worry… Don’t I know it. She nearly had a meltdown when she couldn’t reach me. She thought the storms killed us all. I’d say, “Poor thing,” but I don’t know who to feel worse for–her for worrying herself sick or me for the phone call I had to endure when she finally got through! She’s a dear, though. I wouldn’t trade her for anything.
Love your photos. And I love the idea of a social media break. (I did that while on our Alaskan cruise three years ago.) During our vacation, I wasn’t without internet (still had my smart phone) but I didn’t take my laptop and I limited my time to occasionally checking email (most of which I learned I can live without) and a time or two on social media. I made sure I set my phone to turn off those pop up notices and I had to manually fetch my email.
We drove almost 3500 miles between Texas and PA, with several trips to DC thrown in. While the long road trip was tiring, it was nice to see parts of the country I’d never seen before. (And yes, I went to your home state while you were in mine.) 🙂
An Alaskan cruise sounds lovely, Joan. I have a friend who lives in Alaska and another who honeymooned there… They both rave about the beauty. I hope you enjoyed your most recent trip. I’d love to get back to PA soon. Next time you go, tell me. You have to hit Western PA. I can give you a list of must-sees.