I've been on vacation this week, and it's made me realize how much I miss having time off.

Once you've graduated and moved into the so-called real world, life all-too-often becomes a pattern.

For example, Monday through Friday I work from 2:00 until 11:00 p.m. I get an hour lunch break at the same time every night. I'm off on weekends. I get paid every two weeks.

I rarely have time to just sit and do nothing for an extended amounts of time. Or rather, I rarely take advantage of those times because if I do I run out of time to do something else.

When you're a student you get lots of time off, not counting weekends. There's Spring Break, Christmas vacation, summer and in some cases even a Fall Break.

When you become a working girl, you get ... well, weekends are your only guarantee. So far this year I've worked every single holiday except for New Year's, but that doesn't count because it was on a weekend, and my 'holiday' has been scheduled for a random weekday.

I guess it's true what they say - you don't know what you've got til it's gone.

In 23 days, I'll have been working a professional job for two years. In that time, this week has been the most consecutive days off I've had. And boy did I need a breather.

It's been so refreshing not having to worry about being somewhere at a certain time, not having to deal with the storm leading up to my shows, not having to put on makeup or even fix my hair. Recharging my batteries, so to speak.

How many of us have forgotten what that's like? We get sucked into that pattern our careers force upon us and before we know it the days have become weeks have become months have become years have become a lifetime.

So here's my advice to those of you reading this...
Take time away from your job every chance you get without abusing the privilege, i.e. no false sick days. Don't just live for the weekends that you've filled with all the things you didn't get to do during the week. Everybody needs a break every now and then, even if it's just one extra day all to yourself.