I'm officially back to work today, after a relaxing 10-day holiday break. New for me...that I really take a break without checking e-mail or moving a project forward on the side. I learned during my vacation last July to finally be present with friends and family through the entire holiday. They appreciated seeing me without a phone attached to my ear and enthusiastically supported the "new Jill." I hadn't realized how stressy the old Jill seemed to them -- she had to disappear before it was safe for them to tell me. One of my great lessons of 2006!
Even during a break, I write a bit to relax. Out of this scribbling will come my first posts for the year: a series of Lessons from Mom. She visited me in Zurich for Christmas. Great to have her here, especially as we continue to find new twists on family traditions since Dad died five years ago.
Between coffees and shopping, we talked about her 30-some years teaching 10-year olds in Ohio, USA. I wrote a few of her ideas on napkins or whatever paper we could find in the moment. She reminded me that the best approaches usually start with recognizing the human experience.
And that seems to me to be a good place to begin 2007.
Learning to be on holiday - very important!
Congratulations on being present with the family and them being able to tell you about it :-)
Posted by: Helen Palmer | January 13, 2007 at 05:33 PM