Originally posted on Facebook HERE
A real day off today with nothing on my schedule. I love days like this. It makes me wonder why I don’t set my life up to have more of them, you know? I could retire and have a lot more of them… but I won’t. Because I love what I do, and I feel I have an obligation to the people I serve to make sure they are going to be well taken care of before I would ever consider retiring at all. And I’m years away from having that plan in place. So… I could set work up in a way that allows me to have more time off… but because of the amount of work we have, that isn’t easy to do without creating a backlog, either. Not to mention playing with my band in the Summer months. Friday and Saturday night shows May through September… practices on Sundays January through April… combine that with six days a week at work, and — I get very few “real” days off during the year. I do get a few more when we take vacations I guess, so there’s that. And time off is extremely important to me. Next week I’ll be in Anaheim, CA for the NAMM show. It’s a great time. I feel I need some time away right now, because as much as I like everything I have going on — if I don’t take breaks, the pressure can start to get to me. It comes out as anger and frustration, impatience… I can feel it when I need time away, and right now — I need some time away. It always helps put things in perspective. It helps slow the pace down. It helps me get back in touch with myself, my soul, and come back refreshed and renewed. As much as I love my job and the band and playing music and doing videos, all that… gotta watch the tides, you know? There’s only so much time you can hit it hard before you risk burnout. The older I get, the more attune I am to this. I can see it when I respond to little things with an unnecessarily negative tone. When little things piss me off just a bit too much. When my already impatient self gets really impatient and angry. Time for a break. It’s not uncommon for me to call someone after a break to apologize for being short with them before I left. Gotta clear my conscience. Someday every day will be a real day off, I guess. Or at least most of them. I’ll still have a lot to keep me busy. I’ll still workout and write and read and play music… but the freedom to do those things without being constrained by time?… priceless. Today is one of those days. No matter what I do, it’s going to be a great day. Time, at least for today — is on my side.
