18 days out of the office.

In about 25 hours, my wife and I will board a plane and head out on vacation. Two weeks with our younger daughter in New Zealand, where she is taking a semester. Studying and vagabonding.

It's hard for me to take two weeks off, but it's important to. And I almost always have.

Even when my daughters lived at home, I felt I spent too little time with them. Or, rather, that I wanted to spend more time with them. And two weeks is usually about all anyone can take. But it's a good amount of time. Enough time so that you can find time not to "do," but to just "be." I think being together is the source of real closeness.

In any event, I'll be out of the office until April 22nd.

Undoubtedly there will be emails I have to answer and calls I have to take.

There will probably be some sort of crisis or anxiety attack where my calm steady hand will be called upon.

That's ok.

As they said about Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman," "It comes with the territory."

As for Ad Aged, I will write as I always do, as often as I can.

I'm sure New Zealand will bring crazy adventures, stunning sights and interesting new friends. That is, a lot to write about.