Career Break (2025-2026): 100%
In December I wrote Forty-two about being forty-two percent of the way through my career break. Time has flown since then. Today the progress bar reads one hundred percent.
# What I said I would do
When I announced the break in May last year, the plan was straightforward: a seven-week trip through the UK (with many parkruns), Portugal for a family wedding, and Spain with my parents; then stay-at-home dad life and saying yes to our kids more often; train for my seventh Melbourne Marathon; brush up on tech skills; learn a few new songs on the bass. I hoped to return refreshed, to a workplace that would probably look different. The family had their own predictions: backpacking, trampolining, audiobooks, proper cooking, and they turned out to be reasonably accurate.
So how did it go?
Most of this year was home with my family, exactly as I had hoped. I got to spend plenty of time at D’s school, watching him participate in athletics and netball, and helping with excursions and sausage-sizzles. It has gone absolutely wonderfully.
# The big trip
July began with a trip back to the motherland. I enjoyed runs with Mum, Dad’s freshly grown salads and vegetables (I’ve not inherited his green fingers), Concorde at Aerospace Bristol, family time in the Lake District, a family wedding in Portugal, more family time in Spain, and parkruns wherever I could find them (of course). K and the kids joined for the school holidays, and E’s “backpacking” prediction wasn’t far off. I even had a quick trip to Dublin before returning home in August, adjusting to the change in time and season with D on a school trip to Cooks’ Cottage.
# Switching off
Being back in Melbourne, with K at work, and the kids at school afforded me some time to relax. I made the most of this with the occasional float in a sensory deprivation tank. Time away from screens is very welcome. I have found myself reading more physical books, too.
# Running
The marathon was the focal point of my running for the first few months off work. I had been following a training plan since May, and in October it delivered: my seventh Melbourne Marathon, my tenth official marathon. Two Bays Trail Run came in January, a great way to start a year, and it is always good to be down on the peninsula with the family. I am already looking forward to 2027.
There were other running events, too. I got to be a spectator at the Maurie Plant Meet in March and the Stawell Gift in April.
In May I took part in the Conquer Cancer Australia relay, including a shift with our eleven-year-old running beside me. That was a great experience that I will not forget.
# Building things
I had loosely planned to “brush up on tech skills.” I have certainly kept my hand in and released Foretoken in November, scratching an itch. Foretoken was used at a record-breaking Australian parkrun event, which felt better than brushing up. It turns out I still love to build software regardless of whether it’s for work, and it’s still something I do when left to my own devices.
I also built a Lego Concorde on the dining table, harking back to July’s visit to the real thing. Magnificent!
# parkrun
The parkrun Victoria Ambassador Conference in Geelong in November brought together a bunch of parkrun ambassadors from across Victoria as well as some staff from parkrun Australia. I gave a talk about welcoming volunteers whatever their motivations, which seemed to go down well.
Cruickshank Park parkrun launched in February, an event I had been helping develop for about a year. I volunteered as timekeeper at the launch, and got to run there myself at event number eleven. It is such a great feeling to see a new parkrun community thriving.
Then there was a presentation I gave at a webinar for Volunteering Australia: Community-Led Volunteering with parkrun.
# Wrapping up
I was lucky enough to have a holiday at the end of my year off. I “popped back” to the UK and dropped in on my parents unannounced, where I spent a happy week. While I was there I got to catch up with some of my old school friends, including one whom I’d not seen since the day we left school. That was a very joy-filled day.
Another real highlight from this trip, indeed the year, was the trip to the Monaco Grand Prix, with my brother and a couple of friends from Melbourne. I’ve been to quite a number of F1 GP events over the years but this was something else. Is it the most exciting race on the calendar? No. But when I think of “Formula 1”, I picture cars racing around the Fairmont Hairpin. It was fantastic to be there. A trip of a lifetime.
# One hundred percent
Today the progress bar reads one hundred percent. And tomorrow I return to work, as planned. So how do I feel?
Grateful, certainly, for a year that gave me time with my family, here in Melbourne, and abroad.
I did most, but not everything, of what I set out to do.
I am returning to work refreshed and excited for what’s next.
Would I have another career break? Absolutely! I think it may be K’s turn next, though.