Finding yourself outside of work

Much of Nancy Merriman’s 90-day sabbatical in 2020 was spent in the air.

Aloft in the 2011 Maule Super-Rocket airplane Merriman and her husband Larry had recently purchased, the family traveled from town to town across the state, touching down on strips from McCarthy to Seldovia to Iliamna to Denali. While the weather mostly cooperated, when it didn’t, they simply grabbed their raincoats before heading off on another adventure.

A favorite destination for the family was their lake house, where Merriman says they just enjoyed one another’s company while boating and working in the yard. A special accomplishment for Merriman was finally getting up on a surfboard after years of trying.

Best of all, Merriman said the sabbatical allowed her to spend the summer with her daughter, newly graduated from high school and bound for college in the fall. When that time came, the family traveled together to Montana State University in Bozeman, spending two weeks settling their daughter into her dorm room and exploring the area.

Returning home to an “empty nest,” Merriman engaged in some soul-searching, allowing her to make a plan for her future.

To her surprise, letting others step into her executive director role at the Alaska Primary Care Association, an organization working to ensure access to health care for all Alaskans, turned out not to be difficult during her sabbatical. Merriman said she re-learned that while she enjoys her work, it isn’t all that she is or could be. She especially treasured having unstructured time to connect even more deeply with those who matter to her most.

“The time without other demands, spent with my daughter and husband was so rich. The memories we made this summer are very precious to us all,” she wrote.