Last year I finally became eligible for three weeks of vacation time at my former job. Unfortunately because of my health issues I needed to give up my career a few months later and I never got the chance to enjoy that long awaited perk. Now I am on a permanent “vacation”; it’s called retirement. So as winter started to wind down in Chicago I began to make plans to go there to visit my family. As a South Florida transplant, I cannot bear the thought of going to Chicago before April and even then the weather can be unpredictable. 

As I prepared for my trip I kept thinking about how different this trip was for me compared to when I was working. I would get so stressed out prior to a trip that by the time I would actually leave I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Just trying to complete open projects, making sure that my charts were being taken care of by the other medical assistant, doing final call backs to patients, and preparing my desk for someone else to use it in my absence caused me extreme stress. This time all I needed to do was concentrate on what I was packing in my suitcase and make sure my refrigerator was well stocked for the family before I left town. What a pleasure.

I left for my Chicago trip with a clear head. The best part of the trip, in addition to spending time with my family of course, was that not one co-worker called me to “clarify a problem” or sent an emergency text message. As the plane landed in Florida at the end of my trip I was tired but happy. I knew that I did not have to be at the office the next day at 8:30am. I truly felt worry free and it was a wonderful feeling.