All the advice that I read online about CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) kept mentioning that the student should take a vacation after completing an intensive unit of CPE. As my summer serving as a chaplain drew to a close, I imagined the wonderful vacation that my husband and I were planning to take in September. Even though we have been married for over eight years, it would be our first vacation together as a couple. We dreamed about going to the ocean together and relaxing on the beach.

However, our plans had to be cancelled. My husband’s schedule at work was changing, and I was invited to take on more responsibilities at work and school. It looked like a vacation would not be possible. In fact, I would have to travel in October to the fall intensive at my seminary. So, it seemed a vacation would not work out this year.

Despite all of these negative indications, my husband and I were able to make our way to the beach! We managed to take a trip in mid-November, so we even got to stay on the beach during the full moon.

I worked and did stuff for school from our ocean front balcony. In fact, I even practiced some Greek in the sand.