Balance in 2021: June

Is it just me, or is it crazy that we're already just about halfway through this year? The passage of time is such a strange thing, especially since last year. The calendar tells me that it is, in fact, the last week of June, so it's time to check in on my One Little Word, with thanks to Carolyn for hosting us for the monthly link-up.

When I thought about Balance this month, I had one thing in mind:

I am usually terrible about taking time off from work. Part of this, I think, is because I already get off quite a few days anyway -- the federal holidays, plus Martin Luther King Jr. Day, plus a random day in March, plus at least a week at the end of the year. I take time off when I travel to fiber festivals and usually add an extra day or so to my winter break, but the only time I've ever used up all my time off when I had to on my maternity leave (and I had so much time stored up that I was off for 12 weeks and only one was unpaid time). My employer still breaks down time off into sick days (one day per month), personal days (two per year), and vacation days (I've been there long enough that I get 20 days a year). The personal days expire at the end of each fiscal year (the end of June), so I usually end up taking two random days off in June for no particular reason other than to use them. And in a typical year, I can only acquire vacation time until I've reached my maximum, so if I'm getting close, I have to use some of that time off before I can earn more. During the pandemic, however, that limit was temporarily lifted, I suppose because they wanted people to be able to feel they could take time off if they were sick or exposed. That cap is going back on at the end of the month, though, so my hand was forced and I found that I had to take six days off if I wanted to earn vacation time for this month.

Now, taking vacation time when you've been working from home doesn't feel very different or really much like a vacation. Other than not being tethered to my computer, my daily activities are very much the same. But it means that I can take a longer or more leisurely walk, that I can spend time going down crafty rabbit holes with Rainbow (we're working on crochet amigurumi animals this week), that I can stay up just a little later each night if I'm not ready to stop reading just yet. I am still checking my work email every couple of days, but I'm not responding to anything -- just seeing what's happening so I'm not completely stressed out when I'm officially back in the office. It's been wonderful. And it'll get even better, because this weekend we're going on our first trip since the last time we were in Florida in December 2019. We are just headed up to Michigan to visit my aunt and uncle and will spend all our time there at their house, but it's the first time we'll have seen them since December 2019 and the first time we've been to the state of Michigan since my brother graduated from college in 2010 (Rainbow was still a newborn!).

It's also time to update my 21 in 2021 list:

1. Bake challah for shabbat DONE
   
2. Run a 5K straight Walk the length of the UK - in progress
   
3. Learn a new knitting technique DONE
   
4. Sew a project bag DONE
   
5. Knit a sweater out of handspun DONE
   
6. Spin for a sweater - in progress
   
7. Read a book outside my comfort zone DONE
   
8. Try making pastry
9. Knit or crochet a toy DONE
   
10. Design a crochet pattern
11. Read a biography/autobiography DONE
    
12. Spin the oldest fiber in my stash DONE
    
13. Knit five items for charity DONE
    
14. Finish my WIPs from 2020 DONE
    
15. Knit a sweater for Rainbow DONE
    
16. Knit socks for my brother DONE
    
17. Read a book of poetry DONE
    
18. Read a book by a Native American/Indigenous author DONE
    
19. Try three new meatless recipes DONE
    
20. Go for at least three bike rides
21. Read a book Rainbow reads for school DONE

I've crossed a few more things off my list: I learned a new knitting technique (ladderback jacquard floats for colorwork), finished the socks for my brother, and read a book by an Indigenous author. I have also officially changed item number 2 to be walking the length of the UK (1,083 miles) over the course of the year, and as of Saturday, I've walked a bit more than 752 miles and am averaging between 30 and 35 miles a week, so I am on track to hit that goal in the early fall. I'm fairly confident that I will be able to cross all the items off my list before the end of the year, which tells me that I've put together a good list, though maybe I didn't challenge myself quite enough if I'm not going to be working to finish this list until the end of the year. I guess that's something to carry into 2022!