Burnout and an Argument for Vacations

A Quick Trip to Rugby

I’m clawing my way out of burnout. The kind that involves a lot of therapy and a lot of uncomfortable conversations with people who only know you as someone who says yes. The kind that, at my age, is not good for your health.

I’ve noticed a lot of women around me talking about burnout. I see them/you taking time off and missing a week here and there on Substack. I’m not glad any of us are burned out or having stressful summers, but I do like that we’re talking about it, and taking breaks.

I also took a break. Inspired by Jenna at Everything is Liminal, here is a photo essay of sorts about my quick trip to Rugby, Tenn.

I don’t know when the Fourth of July became a ¹multi-day fireworks free-for-all for anyone with enough gas money to drive to a county that’s allowed to sell them, and then drive back to their county where they’re not allowed to set them off, but where they do set them off, continuously, for days on end. I hate it. Every year, we try to be out of town on the Fourth of July.

This year, we rented a house ²a few hours away to chill out, read and not be on the internet for a few days. We both took stacks of books and I took about six months worth of New York Times Book Review sections.

The house had a big wraparound porch and I sat out there every morning drinking coffee, reading and identifying ³bird calls on the Merlin app.

One of the books I took with me was Real Americans by Rachel Khong, the May pick for Roxane Gay’s Audacious Book Club. I checked it out from the library and it was due back in a few days, so I decided to see if I could still read a book in a day (I did it in two days). Shocking what you can do when you don’t have a TV or social media.

This seemed like a house meant for reading. The living room had a deep, comfortable couch with lots of pillows, plus a leather reading chair with a large ottoman. Not to mention all the places you could sit outside.

If you’ve ever done trauma therapy, you know how much rest your body needs as you go through that. Coming out of burnout is similar. As your body starts releasing all the adrenaline and cortisol you’ve been carrying, you need to sleep. And sleep I did! I took glorious naps on that big, comfy couch.

It ended up being overcast and stormy while we where there, which I loved, but we did start to go stir-crazy. So we went out one day and explored. I’ve never understood which parts of Tennessee are the Cumberland Plateau and/or the Highland Rim, but I think we were in both. It’s a gorgeous part of the state, but it is also unfortunately where some of our worst state legislators hail from. Otherwise, would love to live in Wartburg!

Back in our rented reading house, I decided I would try to finish my book. There was a big bathtub upstairs with one of those fancy bath trays that will hold a drink, a candle and a book. I think I’m starting to understand why you all take baths all the time.

On the last day, the property manager told us to stay a few extra hours because no one was coming after us. A dog showed up and stayed with us until we left. Hilariously, I found out afterwards that everyone knows this dog and his name is Richard. Multiple friends texted me after I posted the dog on Instagram and said, “Oh, you met Richard!”

We took the long way home and stopped in a bunch of little towns and went into a antique malls and thrift stores. It was a short trip, but it was perfect.

1. Margaret Renkl wrote about fireworks, PTSD, animals and the Fourth of July for the NYT (gift link)

2. We stayed in Historic Rugby. It’s about a two hour drive from Nashville.

3. I heard two new birds: Red-eyed Vireo and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I also heard a Hooded Warbler, Pileated Woodpecker and a Scarlet Tanager. I have a lot to learn about birds, but I didn’t realize you could just be two hours away and hear new birds.