Debt Reduction 101

I was really looking forward to Monday with my husband. I had left for Iowa last Wednesday and had spent Wednesday and Thursday without him. Friday was pre-wedding madness, Saturday was the wedding itself and Sunday was spent saying goodbye to friends and family and making the drive back to Rochester.

Husband and I both had Monday off and I was looking forward to sleeping in, drinking coffee and just being lazy that day. At least that was the plan until I logged into my email and had an urgent message from one of my coworkers. She needed me to call her ASAP. We had to send off a document that morning to a potential client and she needed my help.

I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I was grumbling as I picked up my phone and while my coworker was extremely apologetic and I knew that she wouldn’t call me unless she absolutely had to, it reinforced a notion that I’ve been developing lately about my life – unless I travel to the far reaches of Mongolia, I cannot seem to get away from my job.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not the only one. One of my coworkers switched cell providers so she could get better service at her cabin in Northern Minnesota. Even then she has to climb a nearby hill every day of her vacation at 11 a.m. to retrieve voicemails and return calls. Both of my bosses are notorious for bringing their laptops and BlackBerrys on vacation with them. Sometimes I’ll get a picture emailed to me from my boss – a smiling picture of him and his family on an obscure corner in Arizona or something similar – and that should be weird, but it’s not. I’ve gotten family pictures emailed to me from every vacation that my boss has taken. “Hey assistant, I’m on vacation, but you’re like family so here is a picture of Jane eating her first corn dog.”

And from doing a quick Google search “americans not taking vacations,” I find that my coworkers and I are not the only people with this problem. Some Americans don’t have time for vacation while other Americans have a hard time disconnecting when they leave the office.

But here’s the weird part … as much as part of my “honeymoon” was spent finishing up a project for work, I feel very oddly revitalized. I got an email from the cab company this morning and I told my boss out there that I was back and better than ever.

I also had a weird revelation when I was away from work this past week. Sometimes my coworkers drive me nuts, but they have become like family to me. I had a handful of coworkers drive down from Rochester to help celebrate our wedding. My sales staff arrived late at the church and I got to hustle them up the stairs somewhere between the candlelighters and the flower girls. My bosses got to meet my mom and dad this weekend. I had a bag of Amish cinnamon bread starter waiting for me on my desk from my other boss when I returned.

“I have a ton of projects for you,” second boss said apologetically while I took my seat this morning.
“No worries,” I replied and for once I feel like I truly meant it.

So yeah – the honeymoon is officially over, but some friends of ours gave my honey and I a weekend’s stay at their cabin in Northern Wisconsin for a wedding gift. The last time I checked, these friends didn’t have Internet access at their cabin – that just sounds divine!