Why is that bucolic scene sitting empty? Because Americans are refusing to take their time—vacation time, sick time, family leave time, PTO, etc!

Our lovely local newspaper has been publishing articles pushing people to take their time off, dang it. And why not? We’re rich! While one story today announced that Americans now over over $1T in credit card debt, the flip side of that coin is this stunning factoid: We also have hundreds of millions of unused paid time off (AKA PTO).

• Making time for what matters

Those 5 words may best summarize what BreakAway is all about. And really, if your employer gives you the gift of time, you’re not even really making it. You’re just not taking it. Which brings us to a longer variation of our $1m tagline:

• Making and TAKING time for what matters MOST

Free time matters MOST! Mr. Johnson outlines some common-sense savvy on how to BreakAway from the vocation and find that vacation…we’ll honor those. But first, here are some convincing details about the profundity of the need…

• We mentioned: 100s of millions of FREE days go unspent and often, lost.

• Nearly ½ of employees don’t take all their days. (Pew)

• As burnout rates keep rising, 2/3 of workers say time off is the cure. (Aflac)

• Numerous studies prove that more R&R leads to less heart attacks, depression, etc.

• Worried about keeping up? WRONG! Performance rates actually rise with time off. (E&Y)

• Dream therapy: Even the planning and anticipation of time off lowers stress. (AAA)

• R&R also clearly lowers stress. Which improves job attendance, performance, longevity. I mean…Sure, bosses want hard workers, but not sick (or dead!) ones.

• Some ways to maximize your getaway potential

Over-achievers are always welcome, right? Well then, let’s look at ways to also achieve our potential as well-rounded, we’ll-rested relaxation renegades…

• Extend holidays. 3-day weekend? Make it 4, 5, 6, or 7!

• Seek staycations. Simplify the logistics and hunker down in your bed or hammock.

• Maximize mental health days. Maybe you need it; or perhaps your parents or kids need your help. Don’t be shy. In fact, why not sneak in a narcissism day!?!

• Avoid saving up your sickness days. Oh sure, you may need them worse later. But if you stay well rested and recreation-ed, you’re less likely to get sick!

• Shop for another way to be away. As employers gradually broaden their offerings, ask about family leave, volunteer days, and bereavement. (Use that bereavement day to lament the lost days off you may have missed in your lifetime.)

• SUB: It’s never too late to dream on

However you motivate yourself, put it to work! On BreakAways, not…work! Keep a fantasy file? Watch travel shows? Challenge yourself to (at least) one getaway per month? Say YES to invites that come your way? Visit those long-lost (and maybe aging) friends and relatives. Take off with that camera, guitar or other once-vital hobby.

I know, I know…it’s easy for me to say. While I HAVE worked hard (and sometimes still do), I’ve excelled at…Making and taking time for what matters most.

Please join me. Wherever we’re going. Hope to see you there…

Embrace the spirals of nature. Fresh snow inspires fresh snow art.

I’ve made so many works of snow art that I have lost count, and can barely find them all in my enormous photo files. So when this one popped up when scrolling today, a distant cold day warmed my heart. Note the globe on top!

This year, we have no snow. The record-breaking warmth is pleasant and easy. But I do miss the bright white, the childish magic of playing in fresh white stuff, and making spontaneous snow creations. Climate change keeps getting freakier. So jump in the snow when you can. And of course…

Keep the faith.

Just another front-row selfie from an NFL game.

That’s yours truly—hanging (almost literally) out in Allegiant Stadium watching a LV Raiders game, just like last year. I am afforded such suite luxuries because my son plays on the team. The absurdity of Vegas (more soon) never sleeps. The mania of the NFL slams like a Maxx Crosby tackle. And the people watching everywhere tops gambling as a star attraction.

The stadium really is—REALLY is—futuristic and brilliantly entertaining. (Who needs a game!?!) Watching from up-close really is different (and way better) than watching on TV. And much to the raucous delight of the proudly outlandish fans, the home team won the last game of the season.

RAH!

This installment of the Snow Art Series is titled Solstice Rosy Sunshine.

Why the (?) in Happy Solstice headline? Well, lotsa reasons, including that the day is DARK, the weather can be frightful, and it portends the start of winter. Still, the day is full of hope and reasons to festivate. (Or just unplug and meditate.) Stonehenge was built 5,000 years ago by Solstice fans, and people throughout the N side of the globe have commemorated in countless creative (and sometimes shocking) ways since the Pagan days.

My 2023 commemoration stayed simple. Some sun-colored roses offer reminders of brighter days ahead, while taunting a frozen (and slippery!) lake for a backdrop. Fortunately, the day was unseasonably warm enough to assure that the roses survived the photo shoot unscathed—though I was prepared for them to become sacrificial blooms.

They’re inside now. The earth has tilted. And we’re only 6 months til the longest day…and a full year until we can commemorate the dark daze yet again. I may not be ready, but I won’t miss out. Happy Solstice!

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

I stumbled on this pic from a fun week in NYNY in 2015 with my daughter, who was only 12 at the time. The statue looks stark, perhaps because Lady Liberty knows the world is ringing with divisiveness, war, extremism, and worse. It’s no fun for wide-eyed children and millions (billions?) of people all over the world.

Yet it’s the holiday season. So we continue to hope and pray for peace, love, and understanding. Nothing so funny about that, right? So as possible, please turn down the noise and enjoy your holiday rituals and festivities.

And of course, keep the faith.

Punny or not…No season brings deeper or more colorful reflections than fall.

Fall is a great time to travel—a ‘shoulder season’ when the tourists are usually back home yet the tourism bizzes are still humming but without irksome crowds and lines. The weather can be lovely if you choose the right place and have some luck. And autumn in most climes brings a free show of color and natural transformation.

And yet…fall is a good time to be home too. ESPECIALLY this year, here in MN, where we were gifted with drought-busting rains but also more sunny, warm days than I can count. Record-breaking stuff! The lake is full; the neighborhood pontoon party is still afloat. Chores got done without the panic of stinging snow or frozen fingers. We’ve been blissfully blessed.

Oh yeah, the other shoe WILL drop. Hard and cold. And soon, like, next week. Still, as I watched with envy while friends flew off to autumnal BreakAways in Italy, Nashville, and beyond, I also rejoiced in the epiphany that, often, the best place to travel is your own lovely yard.

It’s the spooky season…Beware of wayward pirates!

St. Vincent gets flown over by most tourists, but maybe that’s one reason this mountainous Caribbean island has been on my mind lately. As winter begins to slam MN, seems like the myriad snowbirds flock (slam?) to…Florida. Or Mexico. Who even thinks about St. Vinny? Well, I do. Fun fact: There are steel drum jams, but no traffic jams there!

Maybe folks are afraid. Imagine how many people had to die—and then get dug up—to find all these coffins! In truth, they’re leftovers from the filming of “The Curse of the Black Pearl.” And probably long since rotted away, as pic comes from January 2009. But you could see a LOT of sets, scenes, and (of course) coffins, if you had the right…guidebook!

Hey if it’s good enough for Captain Jack Sparrow (and Johnny Depp), it’s good enough for me. Aaaaarrrgghh…

Yes, it’s October. But no, that’s not a Halloween display. Rather, that pic offers just another gravestone and view from another idyllic island.

15 years ago, my kids got a gift they’ll never forget…or regret. 69 days of island hopping through 5 islands in the Caribbean. They got HOME-SCHOOLED! “Hardest math teacher ever!” they both told me. Often. And (otherwise) had the splash of a lifetime.  My son kept an online blog…A+!

One stopover was St. Vincent, as described and photographed in that there MYBA link. St. Vinny is an oft-overlooked Grenadine isle rich with mountains, authenticity, and perhaps a bit too much crime and pot growing (on those fertile mountain slopes). That keeps it quiet and off the snowbird migration routes.

Scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed there. Prices stayed delightfully on the low side. And the organic F&V were so plentiful that St. Vincent provides for many islands around them; farmer’s markets are filled with aggressive peddlers who send you home with more edible booty than you can carry. For about $20.

This photo was from a high-point stopover; cemeteries are often small and neighborhoody. This gent certainly has a fine view to decompose in.

• Every Autumn I fall back…

Fall has arrived in MN. After a long, luxurious summer, we now simmer in darkening daze, fleece everything, and the promise of, oh, 7 months of same or worse before we kick off boots and slip on flip-flops. Unless, of course, one finds a way to plan a warm, faraway getaway!

Would I return to St. Vincent? In a heartbeat, in an island-hopper plane, or even—if I could swing it—hidden in a coffin…if it came to that.

Stay warm. Dream an epic dream. And keep the faith…