Pam unplugged

Happy 2006!  I am back sitting at my desk after 10 glorious days of spending time with my family in California.  I made a conscious choice to NOT check voicemail, email, post blogs, check my webstats or write any articles while on vacation.  It was just what I needed to rejuvenate and get a gust of energy for the huge amount of things I can't wait to get started in 2006!  By not stressing about staying connected, I was able to do the following things:

• Just focus on packing clothes, presents, diapers and toys for our trip.  If I had tried to speed up and write post-dated blog posts, I would have been up till 3 in the morning and a lot more exhausted during the trip.
• Spend focused time with my family.  I think the biggest gift we can give our parents and relatives these days is uninterrupted time and attention.  I feel that both my sets of parents cherished the time we spent talking, cooking and looking at my son Josh play.  We even got to help my Dad totally reorganize his home office for the new year.  I will never forget his beaming face when we were done.
• Set a good example. I think it is a very unhealthy trend that we never totally unplug from our work.  I see it all the time with my corporate clients - they send emails and respond to voicemails while on vacation.  I say let's stop the madness and relish in some PDA-cellphone-email detatchment.  What might just come up is a fresh creative thought!

Thank you my precious readers for giving me a break and letting me take time off.  I appreciate your support and promise to give you lots of juicy, helpful information all year long!