Similarly, I took a ten week sabbatical (I didn't call it that) from my dot-com startup job in spring 2001 (before 9/11 terrorism). This was after almost two d

Similarly, I took a ten week sabbatical (I didn't call it that) from my dot-com startup job in spring 2001 (before 9/11 terrorism). This was after almost two decades of never taking more than five days off work at a time, and even that maybe only once every year or two. It worked out great. I started lifting weights and eating a little better and reduced my weight by about ten pounds as I recall (and it stayed off for many years). I visited my newly widowed mother half way across the country and got her to set up a POA and trust document for her estate planning, which proved invaluable years later when she suddenly declined in health. I drove with my spouse and 3 kids (middle school and high school age) to Palm Springs for a week and had a lot of fun both there and on the way. My financial condition was such that I could afford it, but I had to go on COBRA for family health insurance and in all respects was basically treated as quitting my job by the company, with only a verbal promise to bring me back to my previous job. Interestingly, while I was gone, there was a major layoff of 15-20% of staff (out of a total of about 220), but they still welcomed me back with open arms at the scheduled end of my absence. No regrets at all.