What I Learned on My Vacation

I actually went on a vacation! Well let’s say a proper vacation.  I have been married to the love of my life for 34 years and we have had some tremendous experiences.  One, I can actually say we may never have had was a proper lengthy vacation. Just me and my girl, no distractions, just me and her investing in each other and exploring a foreign land.

What do I mean by proper? Proper in my opinion is time away from life as we know it, with no other agendas in the background (Honeymoons do not count, they are Honeymoons!).  A pure adventure with my wife exploring and appreciating what life has to offer us.  Sure, I have had plenty of pseudo vacations, you know the kind I’m talking about, working vacations and family and friend vacations.  Have a conference in Disney World, perfect we can make it a vacation!  The team made it to a bowl game during the holidays, awesome a family trip at the bowl sight for a week! The coaching staff is coaching in the Pro Bowl, free trip to Hawaii! Have that one week off all summer, got to make it right, let’s rent a home on the coast and invite all of our family members.  You get the picture.

While I have tried to enjoy these events and time away from work (we do own a property on the coast), they were in no comparison to the experience I had for fourteen days in September traveling the country of Italy.  Are you ready to read what I learned on my vacation?

The biggest thing I learned was having a true appreciation of the experience.  If most of you are like me, vacations become a time of worrying about work, what am I missing, can the team function without me, or worse, work calling you on the daily asking you to problem solve.  I made sure to relay the message that I am going “stealth” for two weeks (didn’t bring my computer, rarely checked emails) and for the first time in my life I was going fully enjoy life with my wife.  She has told me many times what I was missing!

With an open and clear mind, I was able to really grasp what the trip had to offer me. From the simplest of things such as the colors of the vegetables at the market in Venice, the perfection of the ocean off the Island of Capri, the capabilities of the individuals to create the with their bare hands the remarkable work in the Basilicas of St. Mark’s and St Peter’s, the Colosseum in Rome, as well as all the sculptures created by these talented individuals who were so far ahead of their time.  To see what we as a species could create and build before the machine age was miraculous in my mind.

Honestly, if I were still in the coaching profession and went on this trip, I’m not sure the experience would have been the same.  My mind would have been on the team and work and the enjoyment I had would have been negligible. 

The next thing I learned was, I don’t always have to be the boss.  My wife is an adventurer, I am not.  We are yin and yang and opposites do attract.  I love to go to work, she loves to go on vacations.  My wife has been to Italy before (My sister in law took my place, I had summer conditioning) and she has been planning this trip for us for years.  Funny how my first proper vacation came during football season.  Kind of ironic if you know my history.  She laid out a terrific itinerary for us, multiple tours and excursions with a nice mix of rest time and free exploration of the land.  It felt great not to have to worry about anything.  I woke up showered, got dressed and we went on our way.  A major word's win for me!

The last thing I learned was, how amazing man and woman kind is.  I am a simpleton.  I still get amazed when my plane leaves the ground, amazed that an air craft carrier or a huge cruise ship can float, as well as cell phones and internet.  To see the detail in the architecture and sculptures that was created by human hands had me astonished.  What I saw in amazement was not created by 3D printers.  The admiration I found myself having for what I was able to see right in front of my eyes was breathtaking.  A fact that is not lost on me if my mind was thinking about work-related tasks back home.

My 4 Major Takeaways

1 – If you can’t commit to being fully engaged in the adventure, don’t attempt to fake it.  You are better off letting your family go on their own than making it a non-enjoyable experience for everyone.

2 – You owe it to yourself to detach from your daily life’s practices and embrace the experience of the surroundings around you.  You will look at things differently when you return. And, you will find a calming resolution that the world can survive without you.

3 – There are too many wonderful creations that the human species and nature have created.  Having a refreshing open mind to absorb what is their right in front of you is something to cherish.

4 – I am actually excited for our next adventure!

Sum it Up

To all my coaching brethren and those who are enthralled in their careers with the greatest intentions, listen to me, take a step back and smell the roses.  I know there are some who do, but I know a lot more of you do not.  And believe me, all that loyalty, trust, we need you here, now is not the right time blah blah blah we all have gotten from the higher ups, how come its ok for them to disappear for extended periods of time but for us its frowned upon.  I have few regrets in life and what I have learned to be right and what is B.S. I have tried to share in my post coaching life.  The only ones who have your back is your family! Your commitment is to them.

P.S. I really enjoyed Venice.  Biggest reason, no cars! Walking, boats, or a Gondola Ride are the means of travel. My wife loved Capri! She loves the ocean.

P.S.S. You know I had to lay the smack down on some pizza!