As July wraps up, so does my sabbatical.
I went to update my LinkedIn to call out that I'm ready to jump into something new, and all if offered me was an "Open to Work" banner. Folks - I am more than open to work. I am energized and ready to do great work with amazing people that has a huge impact for our customers. "Open" doesn't do my current status justice - I am raring to go to use my freshly-recharged battery to unlock goodness for a new company with fresh, tough problems to solve.
Lest I seem too jazzed about ending this sabbatical - I have cherished every minute of this summer. It's been amazing, and I'm eager to tout the benefits of taking intentional time away from work. If you're on the fence about taking time, here are some of the things I am carrying forward as wins from my downtime:
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Personally saw 32 different bands perform live, including two at Red Rocks in Colorado - simply amazing
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Chaperoned two school field trips that working-mom-Christy would have been too busy to support
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Repainted and wallpapered my powder room
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Created two completely new apps -
- oone built to manage a shared family property, which has since grown into something other people are actually using — more on that soon
- one built to reimagine how families manage household chores in a fair, equitable, argument-free world — it's already outgrown my own household's beta test! Field Notes on that are coming this week!
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Jumped into waves of the Atlantic Ocean at least four separate times
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Had countless coffees, lunches, drinks, dinners, walks, and meetups with dear friends - many of whom started out at coworkers
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Slept in a tee-pee in the inaccurately-named but positively charming WigWam Village II in Cave City, KY
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Climbed through Fat Man's Misery & Tall Man's Agony in Mammoth Cave
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Enjoyed Dolly Parton's Stampede! in Branson, Missouri (y'all... "the North" won, which was... not what I was expecting from the stampede?)
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Invented Extreme Putt-Putt(TM), where each hole presents a new physical challenge and the loser gets a "highly-visible-henna-tattoo" chosen by the winner
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Hiked up to the treeline on Mt. Elbert in Colorado (my son summited... wearing my shoes, hence my treeline stop wearing his beaten-down Vans)
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Attended so many yoga classes, which has resulted in increased strength, flexibility, balance, and presence of mind
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Baked somewhere between 100 and 1000 loaves of sourdough bread
And so much more. If you are lucky enough to be able to take an intentional break, please feel free to reach out to talk about how to make the most of it!
In the mean time - know that I am so much more than "open" to collaborating - I am rested, excited, and eager to learn, problem-solve, culture-build, and make great things happen!