I am just back from a month in the South of France. Before you get all “amazing” or “what a great vacation,” let me tell you, it was NO vacation!
For reasons that are still not entirely clear to me, I signed up for a four-week French language immersion program. Yes, it was amazing, educational, and even humbling. But it was definitely not a vacation.
I did, however, learn a few things. And not all of them had to do with speaking French.
- Pet Camp operates just fine without me.
Did everything go perfectly during the five weeks I was away? Nope. Does everything go perfectly during the five weeks when I am there? Also nope.
The counselors and managers were amazing! Sure, things went wrong (nothing major), but they solved them. Did they always solve them the way I would have? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But the problems got solved, and that’s what really matters.
As a business owner, it’s easy to convince yourself that your presence is essential to the daily operation of your business. It turns out that maybe you’re not quite as essential as you think. And that’s a good thing.
- There are some simply amazing people in this world, and it’s a pleasure to meet them.
Admittedly, it’s a pretty narrow and selective group of people who have the time, resources, and desire to subject themselves to four weeks of language immersion.
Of the 10 people in my class, there was one young “kid,” but everyone else was “older.” Still younger than me, but at least older.
I was the only one still working, and these people were fascinating.
Some were from the States, and others came from Australia, Ireland, Germany, and the UK. They had built businesses and careers. They were artists, former military personnel, and people who had accomplished remarkable things. Listening to their stories often made me feel like the underachiever in the room.
But what impressed me most wasn’t what they had already accomplished. It was that none of them was done learning, improving, or adding new chapters to their stories.
There is something pretty inspiring about being surrounded by people who have already done so much but still want to do more.
- When you define yourself largely by what you do, it’s hard when you’re not doing it.
I’ve always known that work is a big part of who I am, or at least how I see myself.
When I was an attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency, and now as an owner of Pet Camp, I’ve very much viewed myself through the lens of what I do for a living.
To be candid, during the two years I spent working at law firms, I felt this connection a lot less. Which probably explains why I only lasted two years in those jobs.
Suddenly being away from Pet Camp, and largely disconnected from my usual work life, was more challenging than I expected.
Sure, I was still working about four hours a day while I was away, but my daily life was no longer centered around Pet Camp. I wasn’t walking through the facilities, talking with counselors and managers, interacting with pet parents, or checking in on the dogs and cats.
For the first time in a long time, I had the opportunity to think about my relationship with work rather than just doing the work.
How much of my identity is tied to Pet Camp? What do I want my role to be going forward? What parts of work give me satisfaction, and which parts do I do simply because I’ve always done them?
These aren’t necessarily comfortable questions. They’re also not questions you spend much time thinking about when you’re in the thick of running a business.
But they’re probably questions worth asking.
- I missed being at Pet Camp way more than Pet Camp missed me.
Seriously.
I’m sure some of the counselors wondered when I was coming back. And perhaps a few managers wished I were around to bounce an idea off of. But for the most part, I don’t think they missed me all that much.
I, on the other hand, really missed Pet Camp.
I missed the counselors and managers. I missed the pet parents. And, of course, I missed the dogs and cats.
Some people might think that’s a bad thing. After all, I was given an amazing opportunity to spend a month studying in France, and I missed work?
But I see it differently.
First, it confirms something I’ve long suspected. We’ve built a team at Pet Camp that can handle the day-to-day operations without me. That’s something to be proud of, not something to worry about.
Second, it gives me an opportunity to rethink what my role at Pet Camp should be. If I don’t need to be involved in every daily decision, perhaps I can spend more time doing the things that matter most to me and, hopefully, the things where I can add the most value.
And finally, it reminded me that I genuinely enjoy what I do.
I don’t want to stop working. I don’t want to stop being part of Pet Camp. I don’t want to stop spending my days surrounded by amazing counselors and managers, wonderful pet parents, and, of course, some pretty incredible dogs and cats.
What I do want is to continue figuring out what work should mean to me, how much of my identity should be wrapped up in it, and how my role can change without losing the things that make me love it.
Maybe that’s the real lesson from my summer “vacation.”
So, thank you to the Pet Camp counselors and managers who made this experience possible.
I don’t know if all of you fully appreciate how much this opportunity meant to me. Your hard work, dedication, and ability to keep things running while I was away gave me the chance to do something that was both personally challenging and incredibly rewarding.
I’m grateful not just for the time away, but for the opportunity to come back with a different perspective.
Oh yeah, I did learn some French, too.
À bientôt!
Thanks for reading.
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Pet Camp’s counselors and managers have been providing San Francisco’s pet parents with amazing dog and cat care for almost 30 years! If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area in need of dog day care, overnight care for your dog or cat, dog training, bathing/grooming or pet transportation, give us a call and chat with a counselor.