So that is what we did: nothing. Which is to say, we went for two walks, read on the screen porch while a wild thunderstorm swept through the valley, took our time preparing and eating two meals on the porch, and took our parts in text-message threads recounting amazing events in grandchild land, such as standing and crawling.

I wrote my morning meditation, of course. That is a given every day of the year. But beyond that, not much. No writing for Fresh Day, no interacting with authors, just a little email with a colleague about our new mobile app, which we will launch next week.

So this issue of Fresh Day is leaner than some. It’s a vacation issue. It comes to you with my hope that you have gotten or soon will get your own time away from work and stress. Even if money is tight and you choose to stay close to home, I hope you will draw a line around your tools of work and concern for work and just do nothing, or do little things with great care, or set off on flights of creative fancy that don’t bear fruit in pay.

We need time away from work. I love to work, and I am doing work I enjoy every day. Even so, I need to download an inane novel, read on the porch sofa until my eyelids droop, sleep through the rain, and arise in time to continue doing nothing.