We went to Disney over the Thanksgiving week, what with both boys being off school for the entire week and us not wanting to go there in the summer or over Christmas.

Still crowded there. Not much has changed. But the weather was the best we'd ever experienced in Orlando. Sunny and 80-ish every day. Very nice. Even when it rained, it only lasted for an hour or so.

Nothing really new to report at Disney, as far as rides and attractions, though I'm making the most out of it to write entries on my Disney blog.

I was thinking, though, that getting away from the office is getting more essential as I get older. I've been doing this dentistry thing for almost 25 years now, and it seems to take more of a toll. Or maybe it's just that there is more pressure on me from the other parts of my life. In any case, it seems that I burn out easier. I've always had days where I just felt like I needed to get away from the office, the staff, the patients and the work of diagnosing (often on the fly) and treating, but lately it seems they've been a bit more frequent.

So more time off seems to be becoming more and more essential to my mental health. I'm fortunate to have a profession that wasn't really affected terribly by the recession, and to work for myself as opposed to someone with their own agenda, and one that can provide well for my family. But it's harder than people think.

I've actually had someone tell me that I didn't know what it was like to "work" for a living once, several years ago. But I do actually have an inkling. I worked for Illinois Bell Telephone Company (summer job) and for Northern Petrochemicals (also summer job) as well as for a grade school as a custodian (full time in the summer, part time during the school year) and at a grocery store, and though my time at each place was limited, I saw how "hard" the regular employees worked. Sometimes it was VERY hard. But there was down time during the work day quite often.

Here in the office, there is rarely any down time. I do steal a few minutes here and there between patients, and I post here, or on my other blog, or maybe read a few words. But then it's go-go-go again, turn on the mental machinery and get to it. We do surgery (in the sense that we cut human tissue) all day long. Everything's got a certain risk associated with it. I have to manage that risk for dozens of patients every day.

So while I may take a vacation or two more than some people get to, it's more than just a luxury. It has become a NEED for me.

Till next time...