Sabbatical Draws to a Close

As my sabbatical draws to a close, I inventoried how time was spent the last 8 months.

Not surprisingly, people’s reactions were varied upon hearing about my time away from the business. “What’s wrong”?, they would ask. People presume that extended time away from work represents health, marital, or other personal issues. Thankfully, none of this was true in my case. I’m healthy and my marriage has never been stronger. My sabbatical was simply an opportunity to focus on personal interests for a brief period of time. It allowed me to reflect on what I’ve already accomplished, and come back to my business with even more energy, passion, and desire. It was a great break, and now I’m eager to get back after it.

During my time away from the office, I channeled my energies from job orders and candidates—and focused instead on travelling, mountain biking, and re-tooling my golf swing. We took the kids to Disney (for the final time I hope), and Park City skiing. With the arrival of warmer weather, I travelled to Madison, WI to work with Dennis Tiziani—golf instructor for Steve Stricker, the #3 player in the world at the time. I also worked extensively with Tim Rudo, my longtime swing coach at Manor Country Club. Next, it was mountain biking at Patapsco State Park with 6-time world champion Chris Eatough—one of the dominant figures in endurance mountain bike racing. In late May, I jumped on the FJR1300 and rode from Bethesda to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and back—logging 2700 miles over 4 days. Yvonne and I celebrated our 15-year anniversary in June by travelling to Northern California for a week—staying in Sonoma, Big Sur, and San Francisco. In July, we travelled to Chicago for a week with Yvonne’s family and celebrated 4th of July. Our final and most recent trip was in August. We went to Lake Placid and Montreal, with a short stint to Niagra Falls. Cali (our golden retriever) was excited to be included in many of our Summer travel plans.

After 8 months of mountain biking, dropping some weight, and re-tooling my golf swing—it’s time to get back to reality. I’m back to work on Monday, raring to go, and looking forward to this next Chapter.