Since around mid June this year my wife [Faith] and I have been on vacation travelling around the United Kingdom and are now in Finland visiting with family; Still on vacation but simply enjoying family time with my brother's family who we don't get to see very often. It's been very nice, a great break from work for the both of us and we have enjoyed learning new things, seeing amazing places and of course meeting new people. Our vacation is coming to an end though and that means we'll be back at work soon. I think there's about 10 days or so before that back to work day comes around but I'm not sure as my vacation-brain can't seem to compute the days very well currently.
The thought of having to go back to work is not necessarily a bad one for me because I like my job, enjoy a lot of autonomy in it and am a valued senior team member at my company; That all equates to my work scenario being quite a comfortable one and therefore I don't fear going back.
In the photo above you may notice a little bee going about his little bee life: Flying around, collecting pollen and returning it to the hive. It's a pretty simple life I guess but there's a lot going on really and a great deal in this big blue world of ours rely's on this bee, and many like it, being conscientious and hard-working.
When I am not at work doing the same as the bee, you know, being conscientious and hard-working, no one generally takes over my role. However on this occasion my role has been care-taken by another busy little bee, one of my best friends at work and someone I respect a lot. She has not had the luxury of simply stepping into my office, putting her feet up on my desk and relaxing though because she has her own job to do AS WELL AS MINE and so has been quite a busy BUSY little bee. When I return to work we'll catch up and de-brief on all the work she's put in, the status of my clients and so on. I am not in the least bit concerned that I'll have a mess to come back to because she is a capable and hard working person who I trust a lot. She's not actually a bee but if she was she'd be a good one.
I have received a few messages from her and replied a little over the time and she tells me things are going well however also let me know she had several days off due to a fall and torn ligaments in an ankle. To her credit she was back to work reasonably quickly and assures me everything is completely under control! What a trooper. I have purchased a few little things to give her from the UK and as we are great friends we'll catch up over time and talk about the holiday in depth as well. She has an inquisitive nature and we tend to like [and dislike] the same things so have the same interests. I know she is not expecting anything from me but also know that she will love what I have brought for her.
I have heard people complain that they dread returning to work after a vacation however I never do so; I tend to make sure things will either roll on when I am not there or can be shut down or paused until my return. In this case I used the roll on approach and from all accounts it has worked quite well.
We have not missed work in the least bit and have not really given it much thought. Neither have we got to the point when we've said we are looking forward to returning home. Beside's missing our cats we could stay on vacation permanently however we know we have to go back at some point. Having people like my work colleague watching my back and grinding it back in the office means I can put work out-of-mind and concentrate on vacationing and also makes returning back home a pleasure not a onerous chore. I look forward to chatting with her and to handing her a few little items to say thanks for her hard work and effort.
Right now I better get to bed which in Finland, at least for me, is difficult because the sun is still shining and it's full daylight at 10:30 at night and then it never really gets dark. The sun's back up around 4am and it's a brand new day...Who needs sleep anyway? I can sleep back home in my office!
