#sidlife

This weekend, I'll be making my second Illinois River trip of the year. Cell phone coverage is sporadic up there, and I'll be leaving my laptop at home. 

This one is a short trip, but we'll be spending about a week at the condo up in Michigan for a true "vacation" on the lake before getting back to the regular grind.

One thing I recognize now that I didn't recognize during my first go-around in this business is the need for "mental health" time to help preserve the work-life balance. Having a boss that encourages that has been fantastic.

No doubt about it, this has been the most professionally rewarding year of my career. That is in no small part thanks to the fact that I have finally figured out how to balance the demands of this job with my family life, and have the people who support me in that effort - both at work and at home!

Don't be afraid to unplug every once in a while. It used to be a "normal" thing to see me in my office at 10 p.m. - not anymore. If something gets missed at work, I can usually take care of it the next morning. You can never get that time back with your family and friends. Take it.

Unless you work for a real heel, they're going to support your effort to achieve that work-life balance. Nobody wants a burned out SID. Take it from me, I was once that cautionary tale. I think it took three years away from the business to find out how I needed to prioritize my life. 

...then you wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall where I'm going tonight.

A couple years back on a trip to Arkansas (I was living back in Michigan at the time), I arranged an informal gathering of old colleagues where we could get together, tell old war stories, and just enjoy one another's company in a more relaxed environment. Everyone had a fantastic time, and we agreed we should do it again. 

That opportunity comes tonight.

This evening, at about 6:30, several current and former sports information directors, perhaps a former coach or two, and some former athletes from our schools are going to get together at Gusano's in Little Rock and tell stories about the good old days. Many of those stories will be from days before I was born, but who cares? It's nice to see some of these names that I only know from my study of the record books come to life. I am fortunate to work in an unreal business with some real characters, and any opportunity we have to get together and have fellowship with these people is a good one.