What would you do if your kids were home for two weeks and you and your spouse had a window where you could take that time off too?
Could you do it?
Would you come back thinking differently?
Would you have any idea what you’d do with that time, like literally time with no work at all?
I was able to relax into that time off because I have a big announcement coming soon for The Company of Dads, and it’s going to be transformative going forward. I wanted to store up energy.
But there was also a part of me that wondered if I could do it. I never took time off when I was a columnist at The New York Times – I’d pre-write columns or stories before a vacation and respond to queries late at night when my family was asleep.
Building The Company of Dads over the past four years I’ve employed a similar strategy of early morning/late night work around what my family needs. Most weekdays I hew closely to the Care Shift we advocate – working 9am to 2:30pm on all the synchronous stuff and emailing and writing around my family’s needs at other times.
I wanted a break. I wanted one as much to recharge for the year ahead as to enjoy my kids’ winter break where we wouldn’t be going anywhere.
So, I hit pause.
Here’s what I missed:
- The connection with other Lead Dads, aspirant Lead Dads and fathers curious about being more involved. My favorite feature is the Lead Dad of the Week. I took a break from seeking out Lead Dads to write about.
Here’s what I had done behind the scenes:
- Revamped the website to make it more static and get it ready for this year.
- Retooled this newsletter to make it more reader friendly.
Here’s what I learned:
- Rushing when no one knows what you’re rushing to do is a waste.
- Slowing down now to speed up later is a huge luxury – so appreciate it.
- Respond to the unexpected outreach out of human decency – even if it’s to say let’s talk in January.
- Sleep and reading are crucial to being productive.
Here’s what I’ll remember:
- We all got sick in some form of the other over the break. Not ideal but easier to handle since we were all at home together.
- I took my youngest to Florida for three days and – within reason – let her pick what she wanted to do, something she doesn’t get to do with two older sisters. And by within reason, I mean, yes, to her driving the golf cart solo; no, to her ordering a Coca-Cola at 8am while I tried to hit a shot.
- Watching all of The Hunger Games’ movies with my middle daughter. Her pick.
- Lounging around with my oldest daughter who had the worst of the various bugs that circulated in our home.
- Surprising my wife on her birthday with a bucket-list restaurant in New York City. She didn’t guess what it was until we were on the train!
Will I do this again next year? Who knows. I’d like to say I will, but I know that being a working parent means trade-offs. When a work break and family relaxation align, take advantage of it!
