Tuesday night at our Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meeting, our word of the day was “sabbatical”. The meaning of the word is a rest or break from work; “an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job.” I learned of the word when I was in school, as teachers would sometimes take a sabbatical of one year.
While at the meeting, I thought of my own sabbaticals that I’ve taken from work. It may not have been an entire year, but just a week. Regardless, it was a period of time for me to recharge. After being off, I would soon be ready to get back into my routine. On Friday, my niece will be going back to school to begin seventh grade after a nice, long summer break.
My most recent vacation took place at the end of June. During that time, I went to Bites and Pints at Kennywood, while having one of my experiences there since the pandemic. The next day I had Summer TLI at WCCC and had a great time there while learning and networking with other Toastmasters. I wowed everyone with my outfit as well. The summer break for me was a time of relaxation, celebration, and reflection on days gone by. It was the success of finishing President’s Distinguished at Laurel Highlands or celebrating a newly chartered Toastmasters club in Morgantown. It was a drive up to Slippery Rock University to reflect on my time there. This fall marks 20 years since I graduated college. While Homecoming used to be a regular event for me, I took some time off in 2019 just as we were about to go into lockdown mode during COVID a year later. This visit will be a good one for me and I’m able to go since it’s during my vacation week. October looks to be a busy time for me and I’ll get into that as we go through this blog.
As vacation began to wind down, I treated myself to some retail therapy at South Hills Village. I bought some summer scented hand soap at Bath and Body Works as well as some reading material from Barnes and Noble (that I’ll likely get to read this Fall). I also checked out some cool stores like Miniso, which we also have at our mall, and of course Old Navy. I settled for comfort food at Eat’n Park which was fine, but could have improved the end of my visit by eating at a new place like Noodles and Company or Condado Tacos. Nothing major, just food for thought.
Lord, I pray that You grant me patience over the next couple of months, so I don’t burn out on all the things I’m looking forward to or set myself up for disappointment. It’s hard to wait sometimes though. Next vacation is coming in just under two months, but there’s a lot to look forward to between now and October.
During this week off, I’ll celebrate Annabelle’s ascent into her teen years and spend quality time with family at Laurel Hill. I’ll also attend some Toastmasters clubs in person or online (Johnstown and Greensburg in person, Cranberry High Noon and the new Country Roads club online). I’m planning to visit a museum in Pittsburgh (I’m trending towards going to the Warhol). To wrap up the week off, I’ll be driving up to Slippery Rock for homecoming and commemorate 20 years since I graduated college.
Next Tuesday marks 25 years since I moved into my dormitory at the Hiram G. Andrews Center. The weekend that I moved into the school I watched a special episode of Daria on MTV called, “Is It Fall Yet?”
Before Fall begins and October gets here, there’s still plenty to look forward to, like the launch of the new Fall menu at Cutie’s in a couple of weeks. I have to hit up Market District for some Fall flavors. I’m also looking forward to the start of the college football and NFL seasons as well. Hey, there is September in between all this excitement as well and, I hope to attend some speech contests during this time before the Fall Symposium takes place on October 25.
It’s still Summer, but Fall and Pumpkin Spice is coming!
Stylish 🍒 