If Congress Isn’t Too Busy for a Vacation, Why Are We?

Or maybe the better questions are: Why do we believe we can’t step away? And why do we keep waiting to live?

One of my favorite things about Washington is that every August, the city slows down.

Congress heads out for recess. The bad and boujee crowd disappears to Martha’s Vineyard. The country’s problems don’t magically go away, but there’s this unspoken understanding that even the people making decisions on behalf of millions need a break sometimes.

However, somewhere along the way, a lot of us started believing our own work was too important to step away from. When I got a promotion at the White House, I wanted to celebrate with a beach trip.

There were just three problems.

1. I had too much to do. (Spoiler Alert: I didn’t)
2. I was broke. (The promotion had been announced, but my bank account didn’t get the memo.)
3. The one person I really wanted to go with couldn’t make it. (Broke up with him shortly after 🤭)

So I almost didn’t go.

By the time I left the White House, I understood what that mindset costs.

I was 40 pounds heavier than when I first walked through those gates. I’d still instinctively reach for the second work phone I’d carried for years, only to remember it wasn’t there anymore. It was as if my body had left the White House, but my nervous system was (and still is) struggling to catch up.

After leaving the federal government last year, I embarked on a 12 beaches in 2025 journey not to run away from work, but to actually enjoy the life GOD has blessed me with.

That lesson hit even harder after losing two people I loved within a year. One was an estranged family member I assumed I’d have time to reconnect with. The other was a 42-year-old friend I talked to almost every day. I never imagined our conversations would abruptly stop.

My grandmother used to say, “It ain’t the sickest that go the quickest,” and I get it now.

Life isn’t promised to any of us. If we don’t slow down long enough to care for ourselves, life can pass us by.

I was working a lot while caring for my 79-year-old mom with Alzheimer’s and sometimes I look at her lab results and laugh because her physical markers are better than mine! Most of her days are spent resting and watching her shows, and I love that for her after a life of working hard to provide for me. It’s been a humbling reminder that I spent years putting myself on the back burner, only to end up completely burned out.

My Working Answers

• I’ve spent too much time waiting for permission I didn’t need from places that would keep moving with or without me.
• I don’t need a lot of money or another person to celebrate me.
• Taking care of myself can be as simple as clearing my calendar, booking a medical appointment, dressing up just because or deleting Instagram for a day.
• Success doesn’t mean much if I’m not healthy enough to enjoy it.
• I protect my time differently and don’t wait for the perfect circumstances to experience joy. 

⸻

Question That Needs Answers…

See you next month.