GEO Principle Blog: My sabbatical experience

Let me share my own experience taking a sabbatical.

I run a small business, and even though I have very good people working with me, I used to have a very difficult time imagining that the business could survive if I was away for more than a couple of weeks. Well, in late 1996, I found the courage to see what would happen if I were gone for a month or more.

My wife and I decided to adopt our second child in 1996. We had adopted one child the year before from an orphanage in Colombia, so we were familiar with the process of traveling to Bogota, working through the court system, and bringing back the child. We had help from Lutheran Social Services here in Minnesota.

The process requires both the husband and wife to file the adoption papers when the baby is presented in Colombia. Once that papers are filed, they need to be reviewed by a judge, which can take anywhere from two weeks to three months. Only one of the parents needs to be present when the judge finally signs off on the paperwork. So on our first adoption trip, Susan and I filed the paperwork in Bogota together, but I immediately returned. Susan stayed with our new baby and returned in about a month. In the meantime, I went back to work.

On the second adoption, I made the decision that I would stay through the entire process. Computers and email were not so ubiquitous as they are now, so the prospect of working from Colombia was not very realistic. I decided that I would take a complete break from the business during our family time in Colombia.

I told everyone at work of my plans; I think they were somewhat surprised because I had never really been away for very long before. Fortunately, we had an excellent managing editor and she would take over for me in my absence. She understood our business and clearly was up to the task.

We filled out our adoption paperwork in the U.S. in early 1996 and waited. It takes about a year to get a referral where they identify a waiting child for you. The last week of November, we got a referral, along with a thumbnail picture of a round-faced three-month-old boy. Within 10 days, we were on a plane to Bogota. Susan and our 1-year-old girl, and I, set out on this little adventure. Secretly, I was hoping (expecting) that we would be able to return in time for Christmas.

We got our boy on December 9 and in my euphoria over the growing family, I really found it very easy to put work concerns on the back burner. The four of us spent round-the-clock time together. We even took time to tour Bogota and some of the surrounding countryside.

As Christmas time approached, I became anxious about returning. We were staying in a hotel that catered to foreigners in town to adopt children. Susan and I watched as other couples completed their court cases and returned home. The Friday before Christmas, we were certain we would get good news from the courts, which would allow us to return. But the news never came. We were stuck. All government offices closed for nearly three weeks over the holidays. Our stay would be longer than I expected.

As it was, the people in Colombia were extremely nice to us, and we ended up having one of the nicest family Christmas’s ever. We made the best of our time together. We slept late, played parlor games, took naps, toured around the area, and visited other guests when we could. It turned out to be a very restful time, despite the anxiety I had regarding the uncertainty of a return date. I think I contacted the office twice by telephone during that time. Everyone back home seemed to be doing fine without me.

Our case finally cleared the third week of January, and we returned home soon after that. All told, I was gone about 8 weeks. That’s pretty short in the realm of sabbaticals, but it still qualifies as a sabbatical. It was not a vacation. It was much more. I returned rejuvinated; I was refreshed and very eager to get back to work. The experience heightened my appreciation for work, and for my dear colleagues at the office.