Vacation

Vacation--whatever does that word mean? To vacate from our normal lives? For the last several years, a vacation has been my road back to sanity. Seems that I work too hard, too much and take too few breaks. By the time I get to where I'm going, I'm so exhausted that I spend the first half just trying to feel human again. The second half of the vacation is the time to relax and recharge. This year, I have done my best to totally disengage. I've not read work emails (now stacked up at over 200+ with several days left to go). I missed two groundbreaking ceremonies, one of the few times when we are optimistic about the construction process and are not yet at odds with the contractor who tries to blame the architect for every misstep. But I needed the break more than I needed the congratulatory handshakes and smiles from what should be united team members and most likely will, within the next 18 months, turn on each other. See--I'm living in my element--a cross between optimism and denial.