A Trip without a Laptop

There once was an author who forgot how to live without her laptop. She began to feel like she needed to have it with her all the time…just in case. And that small laptop became a weight that reminded her all the time what she SHOULD be doing.

Then this author realized she was exceptionally bad at taking a break. Even when she traveled overseas she had a job: teaching in study abroad, giving a presentation at a conference, or leading a group of young adults.

Late last month, she made a last minute decision to leave that laptop behind…

Arch Rock

and she exhaled…

At one of her favorite escapes…

With some of her favorite people.

The infamous bike ride

However, she did have her phone, so she played with Instagram reels. Her family loves riding their bikes around the island — it’s 8.2 miles. That became this fun reel (Is it fun if she calls it fun?):

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After two days on the island as a family, (there were just a few of them!)…

Everyone went their separate ways. Three cars went across the bridge to the Upper Peninsula and then down into Wisconsin and beyond, while the last car continued home to Indiana. On the way that car stopped at Sleeping Bear Dunes, where the author took these photos.

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When she arrived home, she was ready to get back to work, refreshed from a week away. Now her hope is to remember the joy of a real break from work.

I know you’ve guessed the author is me. Do you find it hard to walk away from work too? What do you do to better manage that? And because I can’t take you with me to Mackinac Island, I want to giveaway a couple copies of the ebook I wrote that’s set on the island. Consider it a vacation in a book. You can learn more about Deadly Secrets on Mackinac Island here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway