Have you ever just needed to get away? I'm not talking about 'wanderlust'. No. I'm talking about leaving everything behind for a few days so you can just breathe. Last week accomplished that for me.

To say I've been off my game lately would be an understatement. I was mentally exhausted, frustrated with work and feeling detached. My creativity was stifled. My stress level was so high my blood pressure was running 20 points higher than normal.

My responsibilities at the station have increased, but obviously the days aren't getting any longer. Not that it would have mattered anyway; I was too tired and disinterested to do anything extra, including updating this blog.

In the past couple of years, I've become the go-to person in the newsroom. When I say that I am called for everything, I mean everything. Being relied on for any and every crisis is great ... in the newsroom. In my personal life, not so much. What with my phone constantly going off and having to stop what I'm doing to help someone every few minutes, my job was starting to feel like a babysitting service. The worst part? I was feeling under-appreciated.

My vacation last week had been on the books for quite awhile. Little did I know when I requested the entire week how much I would need it. Things started off a little rocky, with several phone calls and text messages from work. That's when I decided to disconnect from everything - no phone, no facebook, no email. It was just me, my husband and a camera.

It was everything I needed.

A full week of not keeping tabs on 20 other people. Going to bed without worrying about everything I didn't accomplish because I ran out of time. Actually getting a good night's sleep. Being able to focus on something other than work.

Now I feel more in control of things. My creativity has been restored, which is good news for my shows and for this blog. I may not be fully back in the swing of things yet, but I feel like I'm on the right path to reclaiming -- and enjoying -- my free time.