We have a vacation policy at work that I did not strictly adhere to last year. So I ended up carrying over more time than I was supposed to. And now the company is cracking down and saying that except for extreme circumstances, we need to use up every last bit of vacation before year end. So before January 1, I need to finish up last year's allotted days and whittle away at this year's.
To complicate things, I work four days a week. When we go away for long weekends, Robert ends up taking vacation time that I don't have to declare. As a result, he has much less leftover vacation time than I have. And that extra day off every week makes for a pretty relaxed life. Oh, and it's crunch time at work right now and my boss would prefer that I spend every available hour at work.
Such a problem to have -- too much vacation time!
I have proposed to my boss, and she has tentatively allowed the experiment -- I will take half days off on Tuesdays in June. I've assured her that if it doesn't work out, or if I need to back off, we'll stop or at least suspend the experiment.
Today was the first of five Tuesdays in June. Here's how my day went:
I woke up early, thanks to a cat who was patient beyond belief after the sun came up. After about half an hour of light, she decided she needed time with me and sat on my hip. She was very quiet and dignified and we all woke up slowly. Did some exploring on the intertubes. Then went for a mile long swim and got to work by 9. Got some things done, had a long meeting, wrapped more up, and then went off to the farm with my share-mate who's also a co-worker.
At the farm, we ran into an old friend, talked to her for a while, then gathered vegetables, got flowers out of the cutting garden, and went back to work where I retrieved my car. Came home, planned dinner, put away the goodies, checked email briefly, and I set out for a walk.
I just went downtown, where I sat outside, had an Italian soda and a biscotti, and saw all manner of people I know -- the woman who drives the limo when we need a ride to the airport (probably the only limo driver who hugs her departing passengers), the woman who owns the new frame shop in town, a friend with his baby, followed by his wife with the stroller. I had a few friendly conversations, did some of the newspaper puzzles, came home (chatting with our hairdresser's boyfriend on the way), and started dinner. The hubster arrived, we talked a bit, ate dinner, had some wine, I read the paper, and now I'm upstairs with my computer kitty catching up on the day's happenings.
From my point of view, this half-day was a huge success. I think my challenge will be to do something with the extra time that I might not ordinarily do. Such a nice challenge to have.
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