The Sabbatical I Never Thought I Could Take

I am wrapping up a one-month sabbatical from my business and life in Alexandria as I write this article. Taking a sabbatical is something I could never have imagined for myself, especially as a small business owner. When I worked full-time for other companies and organizations, I barely took a two-week vacation, so a month-long break seemed completely unattainable.

How Does Anyone Take a Sabbatical?

Let's start with the belief that it's unattainable. For me, one of the very first steps was believing it could happen. If you don't dream it, believe it, I guarantee it will never happen.

The next step was digging into what might keep me from fulfilling this mission. What were the barriers standing between me and this kind of break? I had conversations with myself, focused on what I wanted and needed in my life. I had to envision what something like this would look and feel like, and tell myself that I didn't have to live my life or run my business the way I always had. If I could imagine it, I had a chance to make it happen. What was next?

From there, it came down to a handful of practical decisions:

• Building the financial runway to be away for a full month

• Having honest conversations with my team well ahead of time, not as a last-minute ask

• Setting a schedule for how connected I'd stay — for me, that meant weekly check-ins with staff to answer questions, rather than being reachable every day

• Trusting the plan enough to actually unplug once it started

Enter Rosie the Riveter and the Dream Team

I am so proud of the team I've cultivated and get to work with every day. They each bring strengths and skills that complement and exceed my own. I lean on my team for operational management, event planning, project management, marketing feedback, and all-around support. A sabbatical would not have been possible without them in place. I approached my staff, both as a group and individually, to gauge their availability to take on greater responsibility in my absence. The response was a resounding yes. 

Musings from Afar

As I near the end of this journey, I can say it's been one of the most nurturing, peaceful, restorative, and joyful experiences of my adult life. When I experience something this meaningful, I want everyone to have the chance to experience something similar.

We all know how dismal vacation time is in this country. Globally, 26% of companies offer employee sabbaticals, compared to just 14–19% in the United States. Paid versus unpaid looks even more dismal: only about 8% of companies worldwide offer full or partially paid sabbaticals. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, roughly 5% of U.S. employers offer paid sabbaticals, and 8–15% offer unpaid or extended leave options.

The benefits of extended time away from work are remarkable — decreased burnout, greater overall well-being, stronger staff retention, and lasting stress reduction are just a few.

Coming Back to Life

I can attest to all of it firsthand. The first week away I felt a coming-down from years of grind and elevated stress. I felt tired to my core, and it took about a week and a half for that to lift. I was sleeping well but still exhausted.

Then the giddiness arrived. I rode my bike in the mornings through areas so calming and serene that I only stopped because my butt hurt. Those miles took me back to my eight-year-old self, exploring my childhood neighborhood for hours with nowhere else to be.

I swam laps and did water aerobics most days, and hit the gym whenever I felt like it. Reconnecting with my physical self this deeply has been extremely healing and restorative.

I got to the beach several times and let myself frolic in the sand, sun, and waves — feeling like a kid again.

I read often and embraced my guitar lessons and practice like never before. 

And then there was the reconnection to the art world, letting my inner creator dance and dream. Simply incredible.

I asked myself, more than once, how I'd let all of these important things slip out of my life. It's a bit of a rhetorical question, but one worth sitting with.

I'm headed back to Wine Gallery 108 with more energy, more perspective, and honestly, more excitement for my work than I've had in years. If that excitement shows up in the shop  or you see a little more creativity in what we bring into the entire space that's the sabbatical talking.

I'll close with a plea to anyone reading this: give yourself the best gift of a lifetime, and consider taking real, extended time away from your day-to-day work, routine, and responsibilities. It doesn't matter if you're a parent, a business owner, or a full-time employee. Consider how a sabbatical could change and improve your life — and your time on this earth.

If you've taken a sabbatical, or you're dreaming about one, I'd love to hear about it — stop by the shop or reply to this article and tell me your story.

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