People say it all the time, “I need a vacation from my vacation!” That’s exactly how I felt when I returned from what I’ve been calling my Mega Florida Trip.
I wrote about the Walt Disney World Wine and Dine Half Marathon, so I’ll spare the details in this post, but I was pretty excited to find out that my small vacation planned for the event had the opportunity to extend itself another five days. I had registered for the half marathon in March, with no real understanding of where I would be. I thought I would still be working at Genesee Community College, living in Rochester, and continuing the life I had when I registered. It turns out, I was just about a month in to my new job at Merit in Albany.
Not only did I not foresee a big move when I registered, but I certainly did not expect the annual Bus With Wings trip to land the following weekend. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, the brief version about this trip is 60 or so people ranging in age from 23 – 75, going to a (normally warm) away game to cheer on the Buffalo Bills. This year, the BWW trip headed to Miami. The game was the Thursday night following the half marathon, which meant I would be in Florida for 10 days.
At the time, I had it all worked out at GCC. I knew what vacation days to save, and I could plan ahead for being out of the office for so long. Once I moved to Albany, planning was out the window. Obviously, being so new with Merit, it would be advantageous for me to be in the office, but I simply couldn’t cancel my plans. Just another lesson on how life works, I suppose.
So, I excitedly set off for the first leg of my Mega Florida Trip – Disney. In a whirlwind it was over, and I was jumping in a rental car with my mother on our way to Miami. All the while, I had work and all my outside responsibilities sitting in the back of my head. I made an effort to check up on everything at least once a day, but it’s hard to sit down and get work done when you’re sitting in a hotel room surrounded by friends and new things to do.
When we reached Miami and the BWW crew arrived, it was nearly impossible to even pretend I could get work done. There were palm trees, beaches, drinks, and friends. We spent four days doing nothing but relaxing – either by a pool or on the beach.
As you can imagine, coming back to NY was a bit rattling. I felt immediately overwhelmed, finally realizing truly how much there was to do. The work week flew by, especially because I was busy at every moment, plus once I returned home. This, truthfully, is why it’s taken me so long to blog about my adventure. This week has been a true test of productivity and my ability to prioritize effectively, especially when things like “food shopping” and “laundry” were glaring items on my to-do list.
I’ve been back less than a week, and am already feeling a little less stressed and overwhelmed about everything at work and in life. I was determined to not let my time away with great company and amazing memories be tarnished by stress from work. The secret? Take one thing at a time, and get it done!