Sabbatical Update. The Pigeon With Only One Toe

The Sabbatical Halfway Mark

As I committed to, I wanted to share my 12-week sabbatical with many of my peers, friends, family and our readers.  You can catch up on the trek so far in previous posts. (@ the 4 week mark & @ the 2 week mark) As I write this, I am rounding the half way point and heading for the back stretch. Now back to the one-toed pigeons.

Without work, you have plenty of time to look around and enjoy the scenery. During a recent trip to the Mediterranean (part of my sabbatical included time with my wife) we were sitting in Barcelona enjoying the beautiful marinas. We were surrounded by million-dollar yachts, a neighborhood market and endless people watching. For the first time, after years of sitting on park benches, I looked down and watched the pigeons. After a few moments, I realized that many pigeons are missing toes. A startling amount. While there are many reasons for this, it made me think of how many things in life am I missing because of distractions. It happens every day.  Instead of being in awe of the marina, boats and the fact I was in the Mediterranean, it wasn’t about in any of that. It was about the simplest thing in front of me. A pigeon. Until that moment, most days I was preoccupied with work and preoccupied with email. I was missing the world around me.

As I round the halfway point, here are my next set of reflections & observations.

Quality Time With Family

My plan for sabbatical included three aspects. My sabbatical included quality time with my kids, time with my wife and time for myself.  The time with family has been amazing. The last 3-4 weeks has included 1:1 trips with the kids (they each got to choose where they wanted to go) and an amazing vacation with my wife. It was profound to have quality time with each of them and it is something that I will absolutely do every year from now on. I realized that in a busy family of 5 there isn’t enough time to build quality relationships. This is more than a dinner out, or a short car ride, this is a few days of time enjoying conversations, talking about life together and building a better relationship.

There is one more sabbatical trip planned next week (my daughter chose a Monday night football game) and I could not be more excited. We are already talking about the fun we will have together and the places we will see. Let the trash talking begin! If you don’t have quality time with your family, it is something to consider. If you do, please share your thoughts and learnings!

Building A Healthy Ecosystem

I shared earlier the importance of smart habits; I am realizing how true it is. Core to this is your health. You may have time, resources but without your health and healthy habits most of it won’t matter. I will never be a gym rat, but I am far more mindful of what I eat, portion controls and continue to do my best to stay active & exercise. It is also an opportunity to stay regular with doctors. Annual check up anyone?  The reality is if you don’t have your health you don’t have anything. While there is a lot you can’t control with health, but there is so much you can control. Also, think broadly about health and all of the different things in your life, the ‘a healthy ecosystem’ if you will. This includes the health of important aspects of your life. This may include the health of your home (e.g. HVAC, roofs, paint, etc.) your car or perhaps the health of your finances. So the question I have for each of you is…how is your health?

Running A Household Is A Thankless Job

For the record, my wife and I have an amazing partnership. We both take equal responsibility in running the household. That includes whatever it takes to cover housework and chores, errands, financials and everything in between. Being on a sabbatical the last few months has opened my eyes. To all the stay at home spouses our there who are running a household I apologize for not REALLY understanding what it takes. I have a new appreciation for getting kids off to school, laundry, dishes, shopping, etc. and everything else in between. You work tremendously hard and then by 3:45 PM it’s over, the chaos has begun and by 9:00 PM you are just trying to survive. The hardest part is that it starts all over again the next morning with a coffee in hand. No doubt running a household is the hardest job we have. It is often over looked. I definitely have an appreciation for what it takes to run the most important organization you have, your family.

Sabbatical Learning. Time Is The Most Valuable Commodity

We live in a world of commodities. Don’t worry this post isn’t about financial markets or an agricultural products. I realize that time is the most important commodity we have and unfortunately, it cannot be bought and sold. The cost of time continues to increase given how precious it is. They say the only constant is change but at the same time remember the clock is always ticking, moments come in and go by and you don’t get them back.

Being fully present has always been a constant struggle. I am not (and never will be) great at being fully present but this time away has taught me a lot. It has helped me realize that there are so many more opportunities I miss. There are so many more moments that I have the opportunity to be apart of. Those include those at home. Those includes moments at work and being engaged in the moments that matter. These are being engaged in the moments that are the most important. Even small steps matter. Being fully present 50% more of the time than I am today would be an amazing achievement.  Are you present in the moments that need you or are you missing the time & moments that matter the most?

So why it is alarming at the number of pigeons with one toe, this post isn’t about that actually. It is about in the fray of the world around us and realizing that there is so much going on that we simply miss. So what else are we missing? What else is sitting right in front of us that we are too busy to notice? Are you focused on the right things?

Remember that life is a game never won or lost, only played.