> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.rhiden.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What a Month in Maine Taught Us About Family Sabbaticals - URL: https://www.rhiden.com/what-a-month-in-maine-taught-us-about-family-sabbaticals/ - Published: 2026-07-23T15:57:17.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-23T15:57:17.000Z - Author: J.R. - Tags: Intentional Living, Sabbatical, Vacation I’ve been thinking about the idea of taking extended family sabbaticals during the summer. The vision is fairly simple: rent a place somewhere interesting, slow down, and spend enough time there that we are not merely passing through. We might explore the surrounding area, but the goal would be less about sightseeing and more about temporarily building a different kind of daily life. This summer, we tried a low-risk version of that idea. I’m originally from Maine, and my family travels there every summer to visit family and friends. In my admittedly biased opinion, there are few better places to be during the summer. Normally, our trips last a week or two. This year, we stayed for almost an entire month. It was partly a vacation and partly a test run. Now that the month is coming to an end, it feels worth reflecting on what worked, what didn’t, and what the experience taught me about the kinds of extended family trips we may want to take in the future. ## **Part One: Settling In** We began with three days at my mom’s house. She lives in a rural area with plenty of land surrounding the property. The kids love riding around on the golf cart, catching frogs in the farm pond, and generally having the freedom to explore in a way that is difficult to replicate at home. The kids enjoyed tromping around the property, and my wife and I took some time to sleep in, sit on the porch with our books, and just relax. The weather was unusually hot and we spent a couple days swimming at the nearby lake. One evening, my wife and I slipped away for a date night and enjoyed a nice meal and a little adult time. Another day we went to the beach where we all swam in the very cold Maine ocean and the kids and I built an “epic sandcastle”. This first part of the trip struck a good balance. We spent time with family, fit in a few memorable activities, and still had plenty of room to relax. I would give it a solid 9 out of 10. More importantly, it reminded me that a successful family trip does not require a packed itinerary. A comfortable place to stay, access to nature, and a few simple activities were more than enough. ## **Part Two: The Lake** For the second part of the trip, we headed farther up the coast to the area where I grew up and where many of my closest friends still live. We rented a camp on a lake and invited friends to join us. The days were filled with swimming, kayaking, reading, camp snacks, large meals, campfires, and long stretches of completely unstructured time. People came and went. The kids played in the water. Adults talked, read, paddled, ate, and relaxed. There was almost no schedule and very little pressure to do anything in particular. For the last few years, this lake week has been the highlight of our summer. It is difficult to improve on the combination of a beautiful setting, close friends, happy children, and nowhere else we need to be. It was an easy 10 out of 10. But what made it work so well was not simply the lake. It was the way several important things came together at once. We had a home base that felt like our own. We were surrounded by people we cared about. The children could move freely between activities without needing constant entertainment. There was enough space for everyone to be together without everyone needing to do the same thing. The experience felt both social and restful. That combination may be one of the most important lessons from the month. ## **Part Three: Grammie Camp** For the final portion of the trip, we returned to my mom’s house. My wife flew home, while I stayed in Maine for another two weeks to work remotely. During the day, the kids attended what quickly became known as “Grammie Camp.” By almost any measure, Grammie Camp was a success. The kids somehow never seemed to get bored. There were more frog-catching expeditions and golf-cart rides, along with a few informal driving lessons. They built a fairy garden and a frog habitat, played soccer, and made several trips to the lake. They had freedom, attention, time outside, and two uninterrupted weeks with their grandparents. They would probably rate the experience a 10 out of 10. For me, the experience was a little more mixed. I was working during the day, which was expected and generally fine. But I had hoped to spend some nights away visiting friends and to give the kids more time alone with their grandparents. Those plans did not come together. As a result, I stayed at my mom’s house for the full two weeks. Nothing was wrong with the arrangement. In many ways, it was nice to spend extra time with my mom and stepdad in the mornings and evenings. But it lacked some of the things that had made the lake week feel so restorative. I did not have much independence or variety. I was not near the water. I did not spend as much time with friends as I had hoped. And because I was working, the days felt less like a vacation and more like ordinary life relocated to someone else’s house. I would probably give this part of the trip a 7 out of 10. That score does not mean it was unsuccessful. It simply means the arrangement met the kids’ needs better than it met mine. That is useful information. To make a similar experience work better for me in the future, I would probably want my own place to stay, ideally near the water. I would also plan social time more deliberately instead of relying on informal plans that might or might not happen. ## **Vacation Versus Living Somewhere Else** The final two weeks may also have been the most realistic test of the family-sabbatical idea. The first parts of the trip felt like vacation. We went to the beach, stayed at a lake, saw friends, and temporarily stepped away from normal routines. The final portion felt more like living somewhere else. I worked. The kids developed their own routines. We had quiet evenings. Some plans fell through. Not every day contained a special outing or memorable event. That is probably what an actual extended sabbatical would eventually feel like. Even in Switzerland, Spain, Greece, or wherever else we might go, every day would not be a 10 out of 10\. We would still buy groceries, do laundry, get tired, manage work, and occasionally wonder what to do next. Perhaps the goal is not to create a month-long vacation. Perhaps the goal is to create a form of ordinary life that feels richer, slower, and more connected than the ordinary life we left behind. That requires more than choosing an appealing destination. It requires designing the experience thoughtfully. ## **What I Would Keep** Several parts of the month worked extremely well and are worth carrying forward. The kids benefited from freedom, nature, and long stretches of unstructured time. They spent meaningful time with their grandparents and experienced a setting very different from their normal life at home. We spent time with old friends without needing to rush through short visits. We had a comfortable home base and enough time to settle in rather than immediately preparing to leave. Most importantly, the month did not feel dominated by a list of attractions we needed to visit. The best moments came from ordinary things: swimming, talking, eating together, riding the golf cart, catching frogs, sitting near the water, and having nowhere else we needed to be. ## **What I Would Change** The trip also clarified a few things I would design differently next time. For a longer stay, having our own space matters. Social time should be planned in advance rather than left entirely to chance. If I am going to work remotely, I need enough independence and variety that the experience does not feel confined. And a successful family sabbatical does not require every family member to have the same experience at every moment. The kids can spend time with grandparents. One parent can work. People can separate and reconnect. Not every part of the trip needs to be shared to contribute to the overall experience. ## **A Successful Test Run** Overall, our month in Maine was a success. It was not perfect, but a test run is not supposed to be perfect. Its purpose is to reveal what works and what does not. We learned that the kids can thrive with more freedom and less structure. We learned that extended time with grandparents is worth protecting. We learned that the right combination of setting, friendship, independence, and unstructured time can make an experience feel genuinely restorative. And I learned that for a longer stay to work well for me, I need more than simply a place to sleep and the ability to work remotely. I need a setting that feels like my own, and probably more time with people I care about. Even as a strong introvert, I know I need social connections too! I’m glad we decided to just do it and spend almost a month in Maine. The kids created memories with their grandparents that I suspect they will carry for years. We spent meaningful time with friends and family. And we gathered useful lessons for the longer and more ambitious family sabbaticals we may try in the future. By that measure, the month was a victory.