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Sabbatical (Day 1/92)

Giving you the first insight as to how my brain works my immediate thought was that I had done very well not to have taken my sabbatical from February to April, which would only have been 90 days (and 89 if I hadn’t taken it next February to April).  It may seem inconsequential but three days is three days.

I hope that as your read this you have the similar thought that is going through my head as I sit in the departure longue at Gatwick.  What am I going to do with three months off and what would I like to have achieved by the end of it?  I could get fit, lose some weight or catch up on some sleep but I hope my aspirations become a bit more lofty and I discover myself, find my own spirituality or learn to play the piano.  Being honest none of these are that likely and it could go the other way and I could spend three months drinking copiously, getting up late every day, eating rubbish and lying on the sofa.  Or more worryingly I might just do what I always do and it turn in to a 92 day weekend, which in its own way that might be a waste too.  Already the amazing prospect of so much time off is starting to become a little scary.  It is funny that I have had loads of people who are friends or work colleagues saying they are jealous and really want to do something similar and I do wonder is one of the main barriers stopping them the fear of having to plan out exactly how you would fill the time?

I have been told that three moths is an ideal time to take off as that is exactly the time it takes habits to form.  In three months time I would love to have developed the habits of waking up and feeling fresh each morning, of losing the dependence on my phone and instinctively being nice to old ladies.  I don’t want you thinking I am currently horrible to old ladies mind.  I am nice to my mum sometimes.

My day started with all of the vigour and enthusiasm you would expect at the outset of such an incredible adventure.  I was on my indoor bike by 7.45am, did a few stretches for 20 minutes and even had an avocado in my smoothie.  Obviously pleased with myself I then took it upon myself to clean out my bedside drawer.  Astonishing I know. I found hordes of Dollars and Euros, all sorts of medicine I couldn’t remember ever being prescribed and a few CDs (I am not sure we still actually own a CD player).  In no time at all there was barely anything left.  A few weeks ago I think I must pf been prepping for the time off (in a similar way that a mother nests before the arrival of her first born) and in an afternoon had managed to eBay some tennis trainers I had worn once that had made both my big toes go black, a table tennis table that was probably used ten years ago and an Amazon Echo I had been given as a gift.  At this current rate there may be nothing left in my house in three months time.

So I am now midway through a flight to Cyprus, an amazing island and somewhere myself and my wife Sarah know well.  We have been many times previously but with my new thirst for learning driven by my sabbatical I actually did some homework before coming this time and have been listening to a podcast called Cyprus Untold.  It is very interesting, although the host of the podcast does love himself a bit and I am not sure there is a long-term career for him as a narrator.  I am sure he could say the same about by blogging too!  I tried to completely ignore my phone for the entire first day and made it to 8.30am when I had a text from my PA telling me I had some mandatory training to do in the next three weeks.  We had agreed yesterday that she was only to contact me in urgent circumstances and as well as admitting she would miss me she assured me she almost certainly wouldn’t be in touch for three months.  Technically speaking she didn’t even make it to the start of the first day, given that my contractual legal hours start at 9am!

My attempt to eat nothing but healthy food lasted little longer when they handed out free Chocolate Digestives on the flight (you can never look a gift horse in the mouth) and I probably took the easy option in my reading material for the plane, going for a Harlen Coben novel when I had also brought the latest self-help book by Steve Peters and the Echart Tolle book on XXXX that I take on nearly every holiday, hoping I feel ready for spiritual enlightenment.  I am sitting writing in the journal that will be my outpouring of emotion on the plane and have a noted a few admiring looks from those walking up an down the aisle.  My elder daughter, Heidi, had similar when she went to Florence on her own a couple of weeks ago and was taking sketches of all of the famous sculptures.  She’s only 21 and I admire her for doing things like that on her own.  I am 51 and have never been to the cinema on my own, never been to a pub where I didn’t know I was meeting someone and never even thought about going on holiday on my own.  I did eat in a pub in Burnham on Crouch on my own once, when I was staying there on an away job.  I remember coming down the stairs from the room I was staying in into the packed bar and having everyone in the pub scanning me as a I found a table.  I was so anxious that I ordered some food but couldn’t sit still for the fear of people looking in my direction.  In response I got up and put a pound in the fruit machine, I think probably as a sign that I was contributing back to their community.  It didn’t wok though as on the second spin the jackpot came in and for what seemed like an eternity the machine spat out cash with everyone’s eyes piercing through me.

My final thoughts on Day 1 are to my wife, Sarah, who will be sharing my time off with me.  I am not convinced she is entirely looking forward to having me around for all of that time but I am hopeful we will end up close together than at the start.  In a few months time we will have been together for 30 years and I couldn’t have asked for any more.  She is the smartest person I know and if I could ever convince her to sign up, would clean up on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.  Having started out in marketing she had a career in finance as a management accountant before deciding once we had our two girls that children were her passion and training up to being the incredible teacher that she is now.  She was, and still is, an amazing mum and a great wife.

I am conscious that is a massive amount on Day 1 so don’t expect the same every day.  The plane will be landing soon and we should have time to grab a quick drink in Mario’s, bar just up from apartment in Tala, near Paphos.  Not particularly Cypriot (I am not sure bingo on a Thursday was originated here) but €2.50 for a beer and €3 for a glass of wine!  Final note – need to think about my Top 10 tomorrow.