I've been saying it since the beginning of this year but I've not done anything about it so far. I've been wanting a week of shall we call it Sabbath time this year: not necessarily a vacation (which in my family simply means being a "roadie," to tend to my husband's needs away from home, and this is in most ways more stressful and draining than work, though it is a vacation for him) but a week of alone time AWAY. This means no telecommunications access (phone, internet, TV) and preferably no human contact at all. I've not been able to do this since I was in college and I really miss it. It does a body good to fall off the face of the planet for a week or two.

Both times I did it (first time was three days, second was ten days) I took solitary, low budget road trips- both times it was summer and I could therefore eat whatever snackies were on sale at the local Dollar Store, sleep in the car and procure showers at truck stops because even fleabag motel rooms were too pricey for me back then. There's something to be said for endless hours of Interstate and quiet- as well as getting off the Interstate and driving the backroads through the tiny towns (road atlas recommended, especially if you are going to be out of state.) The idea here is to keep moving, but also to catch the rhythm and be still. It's a spiritual thing.

Suffice to say I've not succeeded in getting even one day- or really even more than an hour or two (not at all if you count "phone availability...." cell phones are great, except when you want to be invisible for awhile.) Of course being extremely ill for a week in January ate up valuable vacation time I could have used for a planned hiatus.

My goal someday is to go somewhere really remote like Holden Village (though I wouldn't like to be there right now because of the fires) for a week or two or four, to get back into the discipline of simplicity- of not worrying so much about deadlines or the complexities of life and just doing the day to day business of living simply.

Ahh, to rest and recharge...if only!