jsutfran

Hi all -
Have any of you taken time off for yourself? A weekend? A week?
What did you do? go alone? With friends?

I'm looking for ideas for this fall....

I went to a bed and breakfast last fall by myself for one night...to
be honest, I mostly stared at the mountains and slept...I couldn't
read anything I had brought and couldn't write in my journal....just
felt so exhausted.....had a nice time then came home to a totally
trashed house, too...unbelievable....

Anyway, any ideas/experiences?
thanks!
Jane

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/2/2002 11:34:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
jsutfran@... writes:>
> Have any of you taken time off for yourself? A weekend? A week?
> What did you do? go alone? With friends?
>
I send all my boys to my Mother-in-law's or camping for the weekend. It's
good "male-bonding" time, and I get the house all to myself for the long
weekend.

I have a friend that recently took a week off and went to a ---not an abbey
or convent---the boy word! ??? where monks are! here in SC. No speaking
allowed, small dorm rooms, good food, total peace. She had great things to
say about it. I may try it one day.

Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Karen

That's a toughie. I've done it twice; once when I had just one kid, and I
left him with grandparents and spent a day and a night in a cabin in a nice
little camp. I was bored stiff; wrote a little and read (usually I could
read till I drop and often do) and finally went into town and caught a
movie. The other was after our first year of homeschooling and I left the
kids with dh, spent the entire day in Barnes and Noble and then met a friend
for dinner and a movie. And yes, the house was trashed both times. What's up
with that?

I've always dreamed of going for a week to a retreat, but who knows how I'd
do if there weren't movies available? I do better with mini-retreats, even
if it's just in the house or lunch to myself now. Or I catch a movie... :)

Karen

-----Original Message-----
From: jsutfran [mailto:jsutfran@...]
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2002 10:33 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Sabbaticals


Hi all -
Have any of you taken time off for yourself? A weekend? A week?
What did you do? go alone? With friends?

I'm looking for ideas for this fall....

I went to a bed and breakfast last fall by myself for one night...to
be honest, I mostly stared at the mountains and slept...I couldn't
read anything I had brought and couldn't write in my journal....just
felt so exhausted.....had a nice time then came home to a totally
trashed house, too...unbelievable....

Anyway, any ideas/experiences?
thanks!
Jane



To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]



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Karen

>>I have a friend that recently took a week off and went to a ---not an
abbey
or convent---the boy word! ??? where monks are! here in SC. No speaking
allowed, small dorm rooms, good food, total peace. She had great things to
say about it. I may try it one day.<< Kelly

Monastery. There's one in South Texas that sounds perfect (I *like* desert)
and I've dreamed of going there. (They may not technically be a monastery;
they say they're missionary oblates.) That or a Windjammer cruise. You know,
they're so similar...

Here: Lebh Shomea House of Prayer http://www.lebhshomea.org/index.htm

Windjammer Cruises: http://www.windjammer.com/

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/3/2002 4:30:29 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:


> Hi all -
> Have any of you taken time off for yourself? A weekend? A week?
> What did you do? go alone? With friends?
>
> I'm looking for ideas for this fall....
>
> I went to a bed and breakfast last fall by myself for one night...to
> be honest, I mostly stared at the mountains and slept...I couldn't
> read anything I had brought and couldn't write in my journal....just
> felt so exhausted.....had a nice time then came home to a totally
> trashed house, too...unbelievable....
>
> Anyway, any ideas/experiences?
> thanks!
> Jane
>

My best friend and I go on a "retreat" once or twice a year. Sometimes we
have some structured time, or sometimes just "play" time, but we go to a
reasonably nice hotel (with good packages or off-season rates. The Cape in
winter is great for this.) and hang out.

It's WONDERFUL.
Kathryn


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sharon Rudd

My little sister got her father to pay her salary for
one year (last year) and quit her job as a librarian
to take the time for herself. Now that her "sabatical"
year is drawing to ta close her father is paying for
her to go to school for MA in art education.

During this year she went scuba diving, visited lots
of her friends here and there....goofed off
lots....read almost nothing....sewed less than
usual...but got a big room all set up for in case she
felt like it....bought a new (older) house with an
inground swimming pool and had parties by and in the
pool.She ate in resteraunts and went to museums,
galleries and perforamnces a lot. She told me (past
tense) about lots of her good times. Visited theme
parks....went to puppeteering conferences....SLEPT
LATE EVERY day and took lots of naps. Didn't clean
house. But actually....this is not too different from
herself when she did work, except the the scuba
diving...which she isn't perseuing as she didn't like
it so much. Just too athletic. And no particular
schedule, except what she wanted. No transportation
provided for the kids, just herslef. She did have some
fibroids removed, laproscopically. And she did take
the time to SHOP for her doctors, for herself. She
told me it was a SABATICAL when she stopped doing for
others. But now she is in school doing what (I
confided was my fantasy...I want to have an art(s and
crafts) "school" for children). Sigh. She will do well
with it, I am sure. She is sweet, personable,
charming, sociable, pretty, and she pays attention to
Roy without hurting his feelings..something few any of
my other realtives do (and I gratefull) But then she
does remember how hard she made my life when the older
boys were little.

If I had the same, I suspect I would do differently,
but Roy is only 8, her youngest child (of 3)is 16. And
if someone paid my slalary for ayear it would be $0.
I suspect taking time for yourself with no money
doesn't really work ;-/ . It might be a problem for
most stay-at-home-moms. Also, her daddy paid for her
college, before and most of their first house and her
cars. She is his only child, and I refused to allow
him custody (he didn't DARE contest) when I legally
took her from Mother. Anyway...time off has to be paid
for somehow...her children have devoloped some
problems as younge adults in the past year. Or mayabe
she is just more aware of the problems, now. Dunno.
They were day-care/public-school/so she could do her
stuff kids. Or maybe the problems are just more
interesting to talk about, now, that it is harder and
less expected to do personal intervention.? Is that
always the cost for parents? I suspect it is. The
children are placed at risk when we, as parents, take
too much time out from being INVOLVED parents.
Especially mothers.

Sharon of the Swamp

--- jsutfran <jsutfran@...> wrote:
> Hi all -
> Have any of you taken time off for yourself? A
> weekend? A week?
> What did you do? go alone? With friends?
>
> I'm looking for ideas for this fall....
>
> I went to a bed and breakfast last fall by myself
> for one night...to
> be honest, I mostly stared at the mountains and
> slept...I couldn't
> read anything I had brought and couldn't write in my
> journal....just
> felt so exhausted.....had a nice time then came home
> to a totally
> trashed house, too...unbelievable....
>
> Anyway, any ideas/experiences?
> thanks!
> Jane
>
>


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Shyrley

On 3 Aug 02, at 3:33, jsutfran wrote:

> Hi all -
> Have any of you taken time off for yourself? A weekend? A week?
> What did you do? go alone? With friends?
>
> I'm looking for ideas for this fall....
>

I used to go away for a four-day weekend with a bunch of friends
every year. It ws great. None of them had kids so it really was a
child free weekend.
A few years ago I went to India for 3 weeks with a friend. It was
great.
None of my friends here in America are willing to go away. :-(

Shyrley


"Those who would give up essential liberties for a measure of security, deserve neither liberty nor security." - Benjamin Fran
klin

"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush

[email protected]

Hi,

I give myself beach camp. Of course I'm now down to one big kid - before I
had up to five. When Trevor goes to his day camp right here in town, I drop
him off, and go directly to the beach. No problems parking that early. I go
for a long walk, and then read, write, listen to books on CD or tape -- or
sleep to the sound and smell of the ocean. Sometimes I have a friend meet me
there for the day.

Then I come back, pick him up and catch up on life. It is much easier than
doing a chunk of time away -- and the only expense is the gas to get there.
I love it, and feel very refreshed.

Connie

ps - in the "olden days" I would feel that I'd get more tired trying to take
a break than to just hang in there.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

KT

>
>
>Have any of you taken time off for yourself? A weekend? A week?
>What did you do? go alone? With friends?
>
>I'm looking for ideas for this fall....
>
>I went to a bed and breakfast last fall by myself for one night...to
>be honest, I mostly stared at the mountains and slept...I couldn't
>read anything I had brought and couldn't write in my journal....just
>felt so exhausted.....had a nice time then came home to a totally
>trashed house, too...unbelievable....
>
>Anyway, any ideas/experiences?
>

I spent a 8 days alone to celebrate my 40th birthday in January. The
thing is, you can't go for just one day. You need a couple of days just
for the static to clear out of your head, and for your ears to stop
perking up at every little noise that you think might be some body, some
thing or some dog needing something from you. And then you need a few
days just to get good and bored, and then you need the last few days to
get through that, too.

I actually didn't get too bored. I read 10 books while I was away, and
I gave myself permission to not read the ones I brought and go to the
book store and buy more. While I was at the book store, I came across a
book called " The Marriage Sabbatical", which in some cosmic
Oprah-related coincidence turned out to be the book that planted the
idea in me for a sabbatical in the first place. I recommend this book.
And also "The Women's Retreat Book". (I'm sure other people can tell
you the authors...I'm terrible remembering them.)

I also read "The Art of Happiness", "The Four Agreements", "The Red
Tent", and "Gift from the Sea", among others.

I went to Corpus Christi, TX and rented part of a beach house, so I had
time and space to just hang out on the beach and fix myself simple food.
There was no TV reception, so that worked out well. I did find the
public library and send emails to my family keeping them updated. I
rented a car so I could drive around, because that's good thinking time.
I went to San Antonio and communed with the tourists, and Padre Island
seashore and communed with the hornets which were attracted to Burt's
Bees stuff in my backpack.

My idea was to let myself get completely bored, and then see what my
head would come up with. The only thing I wouldn't allow myself to do
is go home early. I ate well, drank good wine, burned candles. The
only people I spoke to were waitpersons and the pesky guy who came to
paint the beachhouse, who kinda gave me the creeps.

The things my head came up with can't really be explained, but I still
feel refreshed and renewed. It was a good experience, and my dh, who
would have never thought of such a thing, has decided he wants to do
something like it for his 40th next year. I recommend it, for as long
as you can get away with.

Tuck

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/2/2002 9:32:33 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
kbcdlovejo@... writes:


> I have a friend that recently took a week off and went to a ---not an abbey
> or convent---the boy word! ??? where monks are!

A monastery?

--Roxana
www.kalliroscope.net

"She is like a cat in the dark
And then she is the darkness
She rules her life like a fine skylark
And when the sky is starless."


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Kate Green

The last few years I've had breaks by going to conferences. True it's work
but it does refresh me and give me a needed boost about research or
teaching. Last year I ended up spending one night a week away in Dubai
(about 2 hours away) and at first it was kind of neat but then got very
old. When I first started spending the night away I couldn't sleep as well
because it was so unusual NOT to be kicked or poked with little feet or
elbows. It was good because it made me realize that I actually missed it --
even though I still get annoyed sometimes at 3 am:)

My mom and I just spent 10 days together in Europe and it was really nice.
Again it made me appreciate my kids so much more when I got back. But I
don't leave mine until they are somewhere between 3 and 5 years so with
another one due in a few months this was my last solo fling for awhile!

Kate


At 11:46 AM 8/3/02 -0400, you wrote:
> On 3 Aug 02, at 3:33, jsutfran wrote:
>
>> Hi all -
>> A week?
>> With friends?
>>
>> I'm looking for ideas for this fall....
>>
>
> I used to go away for a four-day weekend with a bunch of friends
> every year. It ws great. None of them had kids so it really was a
> child free weekend.
> A few years ago I went to India for 3 weeks with a friend. It was
> great.
> None of my friends here in America are willing to go away. :-(
>
> Shyrley
>
>
>"" - Benjamin Fran
> klin
>
>"" - George W. Bush
>
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