Six years ago, when my marriage fell apart, I decided to do something special for myself. It had always been a dream of mine to go on a sabbatical. I had previously been waiting for my husband to take the leap with me; and when I realized that this was never going to happen, I decided to sign up for the deferred salary leave program through my work, and do it for myself. This program allows for an employee to save a portion of their salary, over a period of time, and take a temporary leave from their position at the end (between six to twelve months).

When I first joined the program, I did not really believe that I would make it to the finish line. It seemed like such a long way off and I had a hard time imagining that I could sustain the savings over such a long period of time; but it felt good to join the program and dream big for myself. I began telling people about my plan to travel with my daughter. I figured that the more I talked about it, the more likely I would follow through; and although it is hard to believe, six years flew by, and here I am about to embark on my grand adventure.

I am taking eight months off from work, with three of them spent in Europe. My thirteen year old daughter is accompanying me. Our travel itinerary includes a month travelling around the United Kingdom and Ireland and two months in France. We fly into England, continue up to Scotland, move onto Ireland, and finish up in France.

I have always been a heavy packer, so I made a concerted effort to pack light for this trip. As we are moving around so much for the first month, it makes sense to try to limit our luggage to carry on items; and I set myself a personal goal to keep things simple. It was a bit of a challenge as we needed to pack for all kinds of weather, including hiking boots and rain gear for the West Highland Way, and warm weather clothes for the south of France. Miraculously, we managed to squeeze all of our belongings into two small roll-on suitcases and backpacks.

After two years of living through a pandemic, I am finding it hard to believe that we can travel safely again. I feel nervous and excited about stepping out into the big, wide world. We begin our trip by flying from Vancouver to London, England. I am really happy to be returning there after almost twenty years, as it holds a special place in my heart. This whole experience so far feels very surreal but I am ready to be brave and take the leap. One. Two. Three. Here we go!