buckle-up

  How often have you heard this expression, in-between? Usually it is said when we are deep into a task and don’t want to be interrupted. Or possibly too ducking a task we promised to do. When it comes to this time of year there is a tinge of guilt mixed in with the need to relax but even so, it is hard to ignore that so much of what keeps us engaged hits the pause button. Is that necessarily bad? As those of us who continue to work as consultants or who enjoy a gig lifestyle, this time of year brings with it opportunities to simply lay back and recharge. For us there are no weeks off for vacation or time set aside to enjoy a sabbatical, but rather, days snatched here and there where we can leave well alone the instruments of interaction. Put to one side are the laptops, tablets, smart phones and even pens and pads. Time to kick back and enjoy that coffee or ice cream! Perhaps we’d head to the beach or the ski slopes. Maybe a short cruise to wherever. Yes, we are in between; Christmas

There is a strong case to be made that Margo, my wife, partner, editor, co-conspirator and I continue to deliver surprises as we write about our mix of business and vacation. We have both concluded that we can neither prosper nor remain in touch with our faculties if we don’t take advantage of opportunities to enjoy a little downtime. As we look to reset our expectations for 2023 we have taken time to look back at what drove us throughout 2022 and the single word that routinely surfaces is spontaneity. Yes, more than once all it took was a brief conversation and we turned our plans upside down. Given how we had already begun filling in the calendar for 2023 we realized we had money in the “Bank of United” Airlines that, given the Thanksgiving Holiday looming large, we may as well spend it on tickets to Hawaii. Flying nonstop from Denver to Maui seemed even more reasonable. Being able to afford first class travel once again, priceless. Well first class to Maui, then Polaris class ba