It isn't easy to just turn off being a pastor!
When you go on sabbatical you don't just say, "OK, for 3 months I'm going to forget all about the congregation." It doesn't work that way. So I had to consciously make the effort to not attend some church functions that interested me while I was in town. It's hard, but after all, the purpose of the sabbatical is to step back and relax and let go of the responsibilities for a little while.
I started out just resting and for the first 2 days I only did what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it. Then we went to Duluth to my allergy doctor and stayed overnight - checking out Barnes and Noble for books to read, the Verizon store to upgrade the cell phone and Rowland's early birthday dinner at the Olive Garden.
After we returned home we went to the cabin in Loman for 3 days - a really good place to relax!
Then it was back home to feed the gulls in our back yard, watch a dozen loons on the river and catch a gull chasing a bald eagle over our yard.
There were rather mundane errands to do, that I hadn't had time for, an unplanned trip to the dentist because a filling fell out, cleaning up computer files, and then there's that homework for the Alban Institute seminar next week!
And I'm not even going to mention the snow that's blanketing the ground tonight ... if I ignore it, will it disappear by morning?
There's a stack of good books beckoning to me and a suitcase to pack for the flight to Louisville on Sunday. My sabbatical is well underway and I'm relishing each moment!
