Author: Britt Skrabanek

There are moments in life that you never want to lose. Often these moments come on us unexpectedly, and though they are small, they are exquisitely significant.

But no matter how hard you try to hang onto that moment, it fades.

Just like the sun slowly disappearing behind the sea until darkness rules, with no trace of light except for the haunting glow of the moon. It fades.

The picture you see up there was a special moment for me. It was taken on the final night of our California road trip, in a small town on the northern coast called Trinidad.

We had stayed three nights in Los Angeles, then three nights in San Francisco. We’d never heard of Trinidad before, but it was a halfway point on the coast between the Bay Area and Portland.

It was the perfect place to reset before coming home.

Trinidad is nestled inside an unfairly beautiful landscape—surrounded by the Redwood National Forest and right on the top of the California coastline.

A sleepy town, Trinidad had shockingly good food.

And, the best part? The hippies running the place. We ate brunch at a restaurant where they didn’t have to-go coffees. You could either buy a mason jar or bring a mug from somewhere…for real.

We were only in Trinidad for one night. Though it was cloudy, we couldn’t resist watching the sunset at the beach. It was one of those moments, the kind I didn’t want to lose.

I had just spent nine days without my laptop and I felt so free. It’s amazing how difficult it is for us to allow ourselves to disconnect anymore. When I was packing, I remember putting my laptop in my bag and taking it back out many times.

As I looked over the Pacific Ocean in this secluded spot, my eyes filled with tears. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to manage all of the things I was doing before I left. I was completely overwhelmed.

That heavy feeling stayed with me when I came home.

It took much longer than usual for me to write my blog posts, because frankly, I didn’t want to look at  my laptop. I wanted to be outside, letting my mind run free.

I eased back into work pretty painlessly, then I made a ridiculous choice to run a $0.99 book sale for Nola Fran Evie. I geared up for the promotion and so many of you lovelies shared the news like crazy.

But, the book sale totally bombed. I’m not being dramatic…it bombed.

After the first day of the sale, I came home from work and called my mom. Though I tried to act like it was a casual call, she picked up my sadness with her extraordinary mom powers.

And, then I lost my shit. Soaked my phone with my tears.

In such a calm voice, Mom said: “It sounds like somebody can use a break. Why don’t you take the summer off from blogging?”

I won’t lie to you guys. I was horrified by the suggestion. Three whole months?

Those of you who have been with me have known me to take my annual blogging and social media hiatus. I always do it when I start to consider sporting a straitjacket to restrain myself.

Last year I chopped my hair right off…

So, here I was again. A little earlier than my planned hiatus at the end of summer. I knew Mom was right, because as infuriating as it is, mom’s know shit.

Going dark for three months was a bit extreme, so I decided on a happy medium.

For the entire summer, I will not be blogging.

I need to step away from this to enjoy nature and work on my new novel. Because yes, even with my breakdown and my crappy sale, I’m still going to keep writing my book.

And, I need to get back to that moment in Trinidad, watching the sun meet the sea.

However, I will still be on social and I will still read and comment on your blogs.

Also, The Life Enthusiast Chronicles will power through the summer. I’m overjoyed to spotlight some incredible guests, who I promise will inspire you like mad.

So, if you think you’re gonna miss me, here are your options if you aren’t doing these yet…

• Check out one of my three books.

• Hang out with me on Twitter and/or Facebook.

• Into business shit? You can read my posts at my work blog.

• Visiting Portland this summer? Hit me up. I’ll teach you how to drink beer.

Hope you all have the most beautiful summers imaginable. Soak in the sunshine moments and be free.