It's Been a Year

Well, it's been a year now since I left my job and began this sabbatical. I've been asked several questions, and I've been asking myself some as well. 

1. Does it feel like it's been a year? 

Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that Brandon and I have fit so many travels and activities into this year. No, in the sense that time just has a tendency to fly by. 


2. Where was my favorite place to travel this past year? 

Melbourne, Australia. Hands down. 


3. Where else would I like to travel? 

Pretty much anywhere, but after pictures of Tasmania from a fellow traveler, I think that's pretty high on the list. Not for awhile though. I'd like to put international travel and the planning and effort it involves aside for a bit. I didn't think I would ever get to a place where I'd be tired of traveling, but I'm there. 


4. Am I ready to go back to work? 

Yes. I enjoy being a physical therapist. I miss helping people, being productive, and feeling like I'm actually relatively good at something. I also really miss daily routine, which work is a large part of. But, we've decided to have our sabbatical continue through the summer, and I'm still going to enjoy taking advantage of that. 


5. Where will you work/settle/etc.?

We don't know yet. We'll have to tackle that question this summer. 


6. What have you learned? 

• The value of a being near to a close-knit community of friends and family
• The perks of visiting a destination for a longer period of time to explore it more in depth and be able to live life there
• The appreciation of being hosted and the enjoyment of hosting. We've been hosted by so many wonderful people and miss being hosts ourselves. We hope to have a spare bedroom wherever we end up to encourage visitors. 
• I'm not a true world nomad like you read about in travel blogs. I cannot constantly roam. At some point, I need stability, normalcy, comfort, and a place to call my own.  

7. What haven't you learned that you hoped you would? 

I guess I kind of hoped to find a secret to balance in life. How to fit in all the things I want to do without being overloaded. I still don't know what that looks like. 


8. What is your biggest fear? 

I don't want life to go back to exactly the way it was before the sabbatical, and I'm afraid that will happen because it's the easy, comfortable option. We'll have to be intentional about trying to be different, and I'm not sure how we'll be different. One idea I have is to try to work part-time so that I can more easily fit in time for some other goals or volunteering into my week. 


9. What has the sabbatical done for your marriage? 

It's been good. When you're around each other more you run out of things to talk about and little annoyances can become bigger. But, we've learned the value of silence and just being in each other's company. And, we've become a stronger team overall. We've been able to experience a lot together, good and bad, and we have a lot of shared memories to look back on. 


10. What has the sabbatical done for your faith? 

While failing at times, I've tried to be more intentional about Bible reading. I'd like to make it a habit so that it's easier to continue when we return to work. Without a home of our own, we've had to rely on God's provision and we've seen that at work. I do feel the disconnection of not being able to regularly attend a church. Brandon and I have listened to and discussed sermons on the road and visited friends' churches, but I am looking forward to finding a place to consistently attend and connect with wherever we end up. 


11. Is there anything you wish you had done during your sabbatical that you didn't get to? 

Yes. I wish we had volunteered more. We have been able to be around to help out some friends and family, but with traveling a lot we weren't able to do regular volunteer work. When we've settled somewhere, that's definitely something I want to pursue. 


12. Would you do a sabbatical again? 

Yes. It might look different, but we'd definitely consider doing another one. Maybe we'd do a local sabbatical, or do a more volunteer focused sabbatical, or only take off a few months instead of a year, or work in another country for a year. There's so many ways to take a sabbatical. 


13. Would you encourage others to do a sabbatical? 

Yes. And, as I sort of indicated in my answer to the previous question, it doesn't have to be a full year, travel-intense endeavor. It could just be an extended stay-cation, or working remote for a few months in new surroundings, or taking a summer off, or allowing yourself a longer break when transitioning between two jobs. Regardless, I think there's value in taking a sabbatical and seeing what you might learn about yourself and the world around you.