“I’m returning from my sabbatical from blogging” may be the most common post start out there. Over the years I’ve avoided that line, yet I just fell off the keyboard for a month. But how can you take a sabbatical from sabbatical writing? That’s like using the silence treatment during a vow of silence.

Speaking of, my last entry was, “The Sounds and Sights of Silence.” That must have gone to head and heart. As did the winter that inspired that post and the deep silence that followed it. Weather can be oppressive. It’s hard to overestimate the mass-psycho SAD that happens here with endless winter. A month can slide by like a skater in the darkness.

• Thank God for Meet, Plan, Go!

They’ve been taking a bit of a blog and event break themselves, yet the good people at Meet, Plan, Go + partners like rtwexpenses keep leading the Career Break movement. And they’ve dubbed me the Boomer Voice and awarded me a monthly column. That’s link luv enough for me. After all, when you’re silent and frozen, such connections may thaw your creative juices and get you moving again.

Speaking of moving, this guest-post reports on trends in boomer travel. “Boomers Are Going Places.” Click, awaken from YOUR hibernation, and ponder where you might go as you enter your later-life years—or tomorrow, for that matter.

Happy sails…

This morning, I woke up too early. The wind had been whistling and whirring for hours. And when I headed down the hallway, the cold breeze that sneaks through lake-facing windows chilled me. Then I saw snow. And when I went outside and walked down to the lake: Ice. Chunks slowly crashed and stacked up like a giant cocktail.

When winter has already dragged on for six months, these are not happy sights. “Sh*t,” I heard myself say out loud. Then the ice started moving, creaking; the wind rustled dead grasses and blew leaves through the air. And the scene struck me as brilliant, if unwelcome. So I sat down and stared.

My cell phone bulged in my pocket, and I thought of pulling it out and pulling up a weather forecast. Then I thought better of it—and had a brief fantasy of chucking the thing onto an ice chunk and watch it shatter and set me free.

My kids? And half the people around us? They’d have their headphones in, thus missing the sounds of nature. They’d also likely pull that phone out and start tapping away at something. Would they even see the bizarre ice blocks? Would they even know that, just yesterday, the ice blew away the other way and gave us a mile-long strip of water—a gift for early kayaking?

In my house, the screens and charging cords keep multiplying like spring rabbits. Indeed, one must hop like a bunny to avoid stepping on them—and constantly move them to find room for a meal or project. The “screen-free zones” idea didn’t work, along with a dozen other guidelines.

So screens go into the bathroom. Keyboards keep clicking alongside roasted chicken. Homework means one minute in the books, then two on the iPhone: book, phone, back, forth. Phones go to bed and become the first touch in the morning. Apps tell you how you slept—because allowing yourself to surmise that (or not) would be Too Little Information (TLI).

Is it any wonder meditation and yoga are booming? Sure, their benefits stand on their own. But maybe the trend also suggests that, on some level, people are realizing they’re frying their senses and longing for simple stillness and silence. (My yoga and meditation teachers would NEVER play music during a session, though many do. Whatever.)

I’m a music junkie; it rarely goes off. So quiet ain’t my normal groove. Still, sometimes when the house is empty, I go a whole day (or however many hours I have) with no music, no TV, and as little screen time as possible. It’s hard to describe the calm and peace that often arises. I’m not that familiar with it, but would like to be.

Who can, though, when everywhere you go, everyone you observe, is absorbed in digitalia and media? You see it all these days: Truck drivers with earplugs; old ladies texting while driving; fine diners with computers next to their fois gras; dog-walkers yapping at invisible people; soccer moms staring at their screen (not their son) while yelling at their phone (not the ref). Heck, I saw a blind man yesterday crossing a downtown intersection while conversing via headphones.

Winters are long here and can make us cantankerous. Some may over-think things. Who knew?

But if given the choice of screen or ice? Give me ice. Give me silence. And above all, give me hope that my family still sees the frozen sheets, hears the howling wind, and doesn’t choke on the MacBook Air.

Here’s my hot stock tip: Consider taking some money out of the market (especially your internet allocation) and take a getaway, a winter vacation, or a full-on BreakAway. If you’ve stuck with stocks for the past four years, you’ve earned it! So, yes: Spend some money now!

• First, the good news

We alterna-travelers have bought into one the biggest, brightest accommodations innovations since the lobby bar. Gone are the days when your holiday meant settling for (and in) a predictable Holiday Inn or a risky hostel. Now you can virtually bounce on the bed—and read about other guests’ experiences—in 600,000 crash pads and palaces across 34,000 cities.

That number will keep surging. And though Airbnb started as a humble idea (want to sleep on my air mattress for a few bucks?), the site now offers castles, boats, and more for your vacation or business lodging. Many travelers, including those in this household, take advantage routinely.

This picture, for example, shows the sunny view from our spacious, clean, and delightful two-bedroom flat overlooking a hip and bustling square in the heart of Copenhagen. Cost? $155 per night.

That’s cheap! And cheap! is not a word one gets to use often when touring Scandinavia. Cheap! would also not describe the value of Airbnb since private investors started throwing cash at this…Big Idea. Airbnb is now ‘valued’ at $10 billion. (!)

High fives to the vagabonds, right? Thanks to us, the Sharing Economy is alive and thriving; we can avoid overpriced, humdrum hotels; and three young, digital entrepreneurs are now billionaires.

• Now for the bad news

Sadly, the Airbnb valuation may suggest that we’re entering another economic bubble. Don’t believe me? Then believe NYT’s business editor, Jeff Sommer, who wrote the article, “In Some Ways, it’s Looking Like 1999 in the Stock Market” this week, citing “stratospheric prices” for Airbnb, Facebook ($150 billion), and King Digital Entertainment (Candy Crush Saga, $7 billion).

As a oft-spanked investor for 30 years, I know how these things usually (always?) end, and it can hurt. Us, I mean. The Airbnb founders and the hedge-hogs feeding them funds usually come out just fine. But…

Meantime, if you’ve been riding the wave of stocks more than doubling since the Great Recession low in March, 2009, now might be an okay time to consider taking some money off the table to splurge on a trip. You now know where to find 600,000 possibilities!

During that Recession, I often said, “We just need a new bubble.” After all, some say we’ve had about five once-in-a-lifetime bubble-bursting events in a matter of a few decades. But NYT’s Mr. Sommer does say, “Maybe not the entire stock market” is in a bubble. Just Airbnb and some other companies in the internet space.

Still, we know how the house of cards can tumble down. And this raging bull market hasn’t even had a routine 10% correction since taking off. It’s overdue. Are you?

So go for it: Spend some profits; buy some free time. In your memory bank, your experiences may be worth even more than Airbnb.

Vacations. P-shaw! People keep sending me balderdashian articles about the need to take a few weeks off every year, if only a few days at a time, and one wonders why they spend so much time worrying about other peoples’ spare time when they could be getting things done. Anyway, vacations are for the meek and sluggish.

Let us dispel some myths about this Pollyanna utopia that one allegedly lands at when, say, you pack your bags and fly to Vegas or Cabo or San Fran or wherever.

Myth #1: Vacations offer rest. This, of course, is poppycock—since vacations stress the already over-stressed routine, require months of planning, days of packing, and hours of travel—often on jets with bad air, dangerous food (if any at all), and seats the size of one butt cheek. Once “there,” simple but essential acts like procuring Subway and finding a toilet can be a chore. The R&R happens when you finally get home and collapse back into your harried life.

Myth #2. Vacations are affordable. You kidding me? You gotta buy gas to drive anywhere, if only to your uncle’s musty cabin. And what about sandals and straw hats and Tommy Bahama shirts for the cruise or beach? And airfare and sleeps? Better to save your hard-earned cash for more important things, like big cars, Myley Cyrus concerts, and the newest iPhone.

Myth #3. You meet interesting people. Nonsense! Vacationers (and the people who serve/sell to them) are unrealistic dweebs who like to set aside sanity for careless silliness. Take this guy. He’s been living on St. John, entertaining lazy grinners, making guitars out of cigar boxes, and mastering his own musical style for years. Poor guy. He could have been a banker in North Dakota and gotten rich on the oil boom.

Myth #4. You bond with family. Yeah, so what? Who doesn’t get enough family? Why go play Frisbee or make castles on some beach when you already spent the holidays with them? Stay home and stay in your room—after you take out the garbage and shovel the driveway, that is!

Myth #5. Vacations encourage exploration. Ya sure, you can leave your comfort zone and go swim with man-stinging rays or climb rocks. But those are slippery slopes—and you could get your eye poked out. Stay home, I say, and keep up with your BookFace and SnifChat and GetIntoMe accounts. There’s SO much to explore online!

We’ve only just begun. This topic grows more vital daily—as frozen Americans fly recklessly away for warm “escapes” to potential doom and destruction.

Stay tuned, and stay home. Part 2 will be forthcoming before you can make a risky plan to get away…

“I’m old!” In her final few years, that was Grandma’s response when anyone asked “How are you?”

It’s true; she was in her 90s, and finally feeling her age. Still, she lived alone on her farm part of the time, and only entered a home in her last months, when she knew her time was running out.

Of course none of us know how much time we have left.  And regardless of our age, there are days we feel old.  Yet with any luck, we still have many years to spread our wings–even those of us who are Boomers…

A few weeks ago, about 40 travel lovers gathered at Ginger Hop in Minneapolis to swap stories and dream trips. A panel of four experienced career breakers took on the topic of “Faith vs. Fear: The Career Break Face-off.” And Yours Truly served as Mr. M.C. Moderator. A good time was had by all!

After a social-lubrication hour, we had all attendees introduce themselves, tell about their career-break experience (if any), and mention the primary fear standing in the way of their fantasy BreakAway. The fears were mostly familiar, yet the Boomers’ concerns were sometimes surprising; were they starting to say, I’m old? Here are a few, plus my comments…

“I’m afraid that prospective employers will think I’m coming out of retirement.”

This came up more than once, and honestly had never crossed my mind before. But it seems totally legit, right? Picture someone half your age named Ms. H.R. Authority perusing your resume and sniffing, “You turned 62, took a year off to live in Peru, and now you want to go back to work? Really!?!”

“I’m worried about stopping contributions into my retirement savings—and spending money I may need later.”

That’s a smart worry. And we Americans are big spenders (who often forget to save in our early decades). But as we age, most people gradually come to their savings senses. Yet my 2-cent retort remains: Wouldn’t you love to take one year of your retirement now—even if it means working one year longer later?

“I’m concerned that I might have health problems.”

Again, so real. Fortunately, one panelist had recently returned from an ambitious one-year travel-athon—despite having diabetes and needing to carry refrigerated insulin and give himself shots four times a day. Full disclosure: He was in his 20s. Yet his story inspires regardless of your age. And other folks reflected stories of getting good—and often cheap!—care in almost every country.

“What if my family needs me or my parents get sick or die?”

That’s a tough one. And as Boomers are learning en masse, some serious things happen as you age: Responsibility. Caring. Illness. Death. But why not talk to your parents and kinfolk—and ask their opinion? They might just insist you go. They may even visit! And remember: If the Bad Thing happens, you can go home again.

“I’m just not sure I have the energy.”

Travel can be exhausting, no doubt. Yet there as many ways to travel as there are people to get up and go—and the words “slow travel” came up often last night (even by young whippersnappers). A sleepy fishing village may be just the ticket; climb every mountain in your next life. On the other hand, maybe a Big Break would recharge those tired batteries and get you off your Boomer butt!

Until you find yourself declaring, I’m old, it’s never too late chase a dream, or at least keep the hope alive.

After all, is there anything more energizing than stepping out of your stale routine, landing in a cool new scene, and jump-starting the rest of your life?

To paraphrase the song, everything old is dying again. In this case, it’s a venerable supper club near some swanky suburbs. After a three-generation run—from a family with deep roots in Twin Cities restaurants—Kozlak’s Royal Oaks will close its doors next weekend. About 35 employees will face an unexpected career break.

• Tastes change

As the photo suggests, Kozlak’s has stayed stubbornly old-school in an era that finds most patrons preferring eating over dining, casual over elegant, and quickness over lingering. When was the last time you were presented several rich desserts displayed on a white tablecloth atop a silver platter by a tuxedo-clad lad?  Furthermore, this particular presenter happened to be Kozlak’s bartender, who left his solo post in the bustling lounge to dutifully dash to the kitchen and return with the tray to tempt us with the night’s confectionary options–while waitrons and patrons awaited his return so they could get their pina coladas and ice cream drinks.

To be sure, there are viable reasons why Kozlak’s will close. It happens to sit on a large, lovely property worth north of $1 million. Developers have been waiting for years to build, as it turns out, multi-unit senior housing (a market much more lucrative than Sunday jazz brunches). And establishments like this can get dated and tired, while their clientele gradually flies off or dies off, literally.

• Bring on the Applebee’s

It’s sad, though, to see a slice of history get torn down. Sadder still, in this final week, is watching neighbors and regulars hug staffers and say good-bye. Restaurants provide an oasis of indulgence and calm; employees become both servants and friends. Unfortunately, for every family-run eatery we lose, another soul-less Applebee’s pops up.

Kozlak’s owners talk about a possible move to another location. But the obstacles are many; the odds remote. So slow-food guests who still relish a soup-and-salad bar must move on to other menus. And life-long employees face an unplanned career break.

Which takes me back a year or so, when we said good-bye to CVA, a grand arts school in historic St. Paul. In that experience, I saw much hope amid the sadness, and a mature acceptance of moving on for most folks. May this unplanned career break bring the same for the Kozlak’s staff—and may they enjoy some unplanned free time and a fresh start when this story ends.

Coworker rarely find themselves discussing career breaks around the water cooler.  But they ought to. Because just under the workplace radar, sabbaticals stay in the news—if sometimes in odd iterations. Here are 5 stories, er, floating around the internets and other media…

• Breakaway Sailing from NYC; Lawsuits Still Unsettled       

Norwegian Cruise Line paid this website the ultimate compliment when they christened their new super-ship, “Breakaway.” But they forgot to ask permission, pay appropriate royalties, and give us free rum punches. We’ll let the courts decide; ‘nuff said. Meantime, the buzz is big. You can sail out of NYC to warm locales—and eat your heart out at 29 “dining experiences,” including a seafood restaurant lorded over by celeb chef, Geoffrey Zakarian.

• The Sabbath: Now a Sad Day

Our local paper recently offered a Sunday feature about how Sundays, once a day of rest, are now a day of stress and dread. Yep. Nowadays, most folks pack their Sundays with activities and errands and do lists—and largely skip the part about sleeping in, worship and fellowship, and a hearty Sunday supper. 78% worldwide experience these doldrums, with 59% reporting a “really bad” dose. As for me, I’ve always hated “60 Minutes.” That ticking represents the weekend—or is it life itself?—coming to an end (after some depressing sensationalism and this word from our sponsor).

• Fast Company Suggests Slowing Down

Meanwhile, Fast Company’s Laura Vanderkam writes a “Work Smart” column and calls sabbaticals “a great tool.” Wow! Who knew!?! Her story profiles a burnt-out employee who took six months off, came back refreshed and ready to re-invent her career, and went on to write a book called “Falling in Love With Work” all about it! Evergreen takeaways: Use your vacation days; schedule in free time; and “claw yourself time to think.”

• Iowa Professors Suffer Sabbatical Shortage

We’ve ranted before about Iowa’s legislature way overstepping their bounds by slashing sabbatical budgets at the University by more than half (assumedly out of shameless jealousy and control freakism). Now, three years into their knuckleheaded bullying, teachers are indeed lamenting that without these working breaks, they are having a harder time doing research, publishing books, creating new courses, and (in one’s case) launching rockets.  Hey, politicians: Keep your dirty hands out of smarter worlds. 

• Students Need Sabbaticals, Too

Elsewhere in academia, Northwestern senior William McLaughlin advocates in the school paper for student breaks, travels, and gap years. He reflects his own year off before college, biking in Beijing. College years can already be a multi-year, ivory-tower BreakAway, if you ask me. Summers off! Spring breaks! Low taxes! Still, we applaud his vision, even if we cringe and disagree with his assertion that, “Old age is no time to start things.” Hey, Big Ten Boy: Who says you won’t want re-bike Beijing when you’re “old” and gray?

Any age is a good time to start something, right?

While beer-storming (that’s beer-sipping + brainstorming) over the holidays with dear friend and Meet, Plan, Go! rock star Sherry Ott, we discussed the Wall Street Journal’s recent article on Baby Boomers and career breaks—and what a potential movement (literally) may happen if, indeed, Boomers begin breaking.

From that chat was borne my 2014 mission. For the next year, every month, I will write a column about Baby Boomers for the briefcase-to-backpack site.

They’ve kindly published it already, but these days, who doesn’t believe in multi-purposing? So let’s get off our Boomer big butts and get this show on the road!

• Not the greatest generation?

We Boomers are a mystifying bunch. I say “We” because I was born in 1960—toward the end of the Baby Boom (1946 – 1964) and have loved riding the surge that followed. We sprang to life during an era of relative convention and conservatism. Then we boisterously rejected all that and, as lore has it, sold our souls to sex, drugs, and rock & roll.

We still like those things (and, increasingly, Viagra, hearing aids, and legalization). But as history writes our story, there’s often a lingering haze of disappointment about what we accomplished with our passion and promise. After all, we preached peace but have enabled costly wars that drag on for decades. We marched for equality yet bitter human-rights fights rage on. We imagined a world less ruled by The Man, Big Brother, and Uncle Sam—yet fear for our freedoms, privacy, and jobs.

Now we’re 50 – 68 years old. If we still fantasize about running away to Woodstock or San Francisco, we probably lack the means and zeal—or are afraid someone might steal our job. Hell, two-thirds of us (in North America) don’t even use all of our modest vacation allocation. Is that a buzzkill or what!?! A haze of disappointment, indeed.

• Let’s change the world—one (vacation) day at a time

But it’s not too late, right? If you’re reading this—Boomer or not—you’re not dead yet. And the best time to take an extended journey is…anytime! Like, when the stars finally align! When you’ve saved some money! Gotten divorced or widowed! Watched your nest (or nest egg) go empty! Or gotten fired or learned you have just one year to live.

In other words, perhaps there’s no perfect time for anything. Yet somehow we find time to fall in love, get an education, buy and sell homes, raise families, manage careers, and move around. If you hang out on this site, you’re likely thinking about moving around.

So we’ll explore what it means to prioritize long-term travel—and the whys and hows and more. We’ll revive forgotten promises and unfulfilled fantasies. We’ll celebrate trips we’ve taken, probe vital topics, and ask the big questions like…

If we’re afraid to go, how do we face down fear and build up faith?

What’s money got to do with it?

What about options like staycations, couch-surfing, and home exchanges?

How will we redefine retirement?

Can we embark on ambitious adventures while managing a health condition?

Why do we work so hard and long—and how can we escape that blessed curse?

How do we keep hope alive through mini-breaks, vacations, and leisure?

Have we become immobilized by our families, homes, gadgets, and stuff?

What are pros and cons of going solo, with a partner, or the whole famn damily?

Since we might live beyond 100, how do we make a work/life plan for that?

As our travels may suggest, why are less fortunate cultures often happier than U.S.?

Shall we start scheming for a Boomers on BreakAway Summit?

• Up, up, and away…

We’ll check out some stats and facts, and get lost in far-out places like Bequia. We’ll share tips and tales from been there/doing that sources like http://travelpast50.com. And above all, we’ll laugh at ourselves and yet hope to inspire each other to go up, up, and away—whether it’s the adventure of a lifetime, or simply using all our vacation days.

P.S. What do YOU want Big Boom RoadShow to explore? Please add your comment below, or send me a private email through my website. Thanks!

The year is already 5% done, with January more than half over. Here in the Polar Vortex, we couldn’t be happier; only four more months till the tulips poke up. Oh well, every day holds a little mystery and magic, right? If we can’t get down and dirty in the garden, we can always try to find fish under the ice. Here are some more ways to keep it real this year…

5 More Ways to Keep it Real

1. Don’t order it, cook it. Did you know Americans now spend more money on prepared foods than home cookin’? Yep. We’ve reached the tipping point—and that includes on our bathroom scale. Let’s get out of line and back into the kitchen.
2. Go whole, not hacked. Those food factories love to slice, dice, mince, and mash the ingredients (and flavors and colors and preservatives) til you’re not really sure what you’re tasting—and the label reads like a chemistry experiment. Want good taste? Grill salmon. Steam some rice. Chop a fresh salad. Your body will thank you.
3. Journal more, post less. Caution: Journaling may lead to navel-gazing. But posting may lead to narcissism. Private pondering made Shakespeare, Kierkegaard, and Woody Allen great. SM fixations usually lead to Silly Mundaneness.
4. Don’t just “like,” appreciate. Our ability to express approval has been reduced to little clicks of “likes,” a thumbs-up icon, or (if you’re really lucky) a smiley face. Want to make someone’s day? Show and tell them how much you appreciate their assistance, kindness, and unconditional “like.”
5. Slow down, stay longer. Manpower Group recently reported that 69% of North Americans didn’t use all their vacation time last year—for the third year in a row. What’s more real: Your job or your free time? Hey! Go away! And when you get there, hunker down and sit a spell!

Happy New Year. Let’s hope it’s a good one by making it real.

Today’s stumbled-on stat is that 93% of US adults will set a New Year’s resolution for 2014, and 54% of them will be health-related.*

That’s good. We’d all have a better year with improved eating, sleeping, and exercise. But as I stare at the screen, I resolve to stare less at screens and seek what’s real instead—and reckon that would help both health and mental health.

5 Ways to Keep it Real

1. Say it, don’t text it. Texting’s passive-aggressive patterns can work well for quick or witty bits. But hearing someone’s voice—or seeing their face—brings bigger smiles.
2. Skip the selfie. Oh sure, you could take another picture of yourself to show your online “friends.” Or…you could photograph real friends and family whenever you gather.
3. Look long-term. Speaking of pics, the trend is all about take, post, check “likes,” and hurry on to the next shot. Here’s an idea: Get a quality camera and shoot lasting memories.
4. Make plans. Social media ups the spontaneity potential. But it can also lead to nowhere. Sometimes living for the day beats living for the moment.
5. Don’t go out, hang out. Most folks love to spend money—at the mall, the concert, the game, the eatery. But what about chillin’ with best buds? Priceless!

That’s enough for today, since one goal for the year is to seek attainable intentions. But since the year’s turn offers a great chance for reflection and is a holiday the whole world agrees on, perhaps a Part Two will be in order…

* Ipsos Public Affairs