Alright, so you’re probably wondering about this “sabbatical Tommy” label I’ve been using. It’s not some famous dude or anything. It’s just… well, it’s me, but a different version, I guess. Let me walk you through how I sort of stumbled into becoming this guy.
For years, I was just Tommy. Tommy the dependable. Tommy who always stayed late to finish that one last thing. Tommy who thought ‘hustle’ was my middle name. I got up, went to work, did the job, came home tired, and then repeated it all the next day. You know the drill. My whole life was basically a series of deadlines and meetings. I wasn’t unhappy, not really, or so I told myself. I was just… busy. Constantly.
So, What Happened?
Then, things started to feel… off. It wasn’t one big explosion. More like a slow leak. I remember staring at my computer screen one afternoon, and the words just wouldn’t make sense. My brain felt like it was full of cotton. I was snapping at my family over little things. I found myself forgetting stuff I’d normally remember easy. That wasn’t the me I wanted to be. I realized I was running on empty, and had been for a long, long time.
So, I started thinking. Really thinking. What if I just… stopped? The idea was terrifying, honestly. How would things run? What would people think? But the alternative, continuing down that path, felt even scarier. I began researching what a sabbatical even meant for someone like me, not an academic or anything fancy. I talked it over with my partner, sketched out a rough financial plan – more like scribbles on a napkin, really. It was a process, lots of back and forth, lots of “are you sure?” from myself more than anyone else.
Finally, I took the plunge. I had the awkward conversation with my boss. I put things in place. And then, there it was. Day one of… nothing scheduled. It was weird. The first week, I mostly just wandered around the house, feeling a bit lost. I think I slept more than I had in years.
Becoming “Sabbatical Tommy”
Slowly, I started doing things. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I pulled out my old guitar that had been gathering dust. I started cooking more, really getting into it, not just reheating stuff. I went for long walks with no destination in mind. I read books that had nothing to do with my job. I even tried meditating – still working on that one, my mind wanders a lot.
So, who is sabbatical Tommy? He’s the guy who’s learning to be present. He’s the guy who’s rediscovering old hobbies and finding some new ones. He’s figuring out what actually matters to him, outside of a job title. It’s not always easy. Some days I feel a bit adrift. But mostly, it’s about giving myself permission to breathe, to explore, to just be. It’s a practice, this sabbatical thing. I’m practicing being a different kind of Tommy. And honestly, it’s been quite the journey so far. That’s the long and short of it, really.