Why staycay?

I've never done it before: stayed home for a vacation. Sure, I've had my fair share of scheduled "mental health days" and one-day extensions of weekends, but I've never taken a chunk of time off and just stayed in town.

It all started from feeling mildly burnt out at work through the first half of the year. Around the beginning of June is when I realized it was taking a more substantial toll. I knew that a few days off, or some intense conversations with friends, our yoga guru or my therapist, wasn't going to fix this. I've had my ups and downs and have always been able to regroup. I knew this was different, as I also had some big personal stuff going on, constantly brewing in my mind. Will I ever get pregnant? Is the honeymoon over for my husband and I? Am I ever going to make new, local and/or good friends (as all of my close friends have moved away or have always lived far away)? Is it weird for a white girl to be thinking about solving racism? (long story) And mostly, what is the deal with my weight? As in, do I or don't I want to lose it, and I need to shit or get off the pot...

My now-ex-coworker Erin, who resigned and set off for a world trip recently, suggested that I take a leave of absence to get my head together. I just didn't have the nerve to ask for a leave of absence so I settled on doing just two weeks off from work, which I requested and was granted. I had no idea what I was going to do, but knew that time away would be good no matter what. Very little time passed before I started to get really excited about it and ideas were flying about in my head. After I got home from work last night and it sank in that I was going to be off for two weeks, I started charting out all the things I want to accomplish (and have added them to the side bar, to strikethough as I do them a la Maggie Mason's Life List). I want this time to be a little bit structured, relaxing and transformative, but mostly worth it.

We'll see what happens!