I was going to write a post about Sara Palin and her choice to go ahead with the VP nomination while knowing that it would mean exposing her daughter’s unplanned pregnancy to millions of people, but I am taking a Sara Palin break. Actually, a political break. Between the Olympics and now the convention coverage, I’ve gotten no sleep between work and staying an informed citizen, and my mind needs a chill out session. (Besides, I need to get over some of the less-than-working-mom-encouraging comments on my first Sara Palin blog this week. If you were wondering, I don’t have thick skin.)

So instead I am going to tell you about my vacation last week. My husband and I were lucky to have my parents take our daughter to the beach for a few days while we drove to one of my favorite cities in the world, Montreal. Incredible food, beautiful art galleries, friendly people, fresh air, and two of my favorite boutiques (where I did much more browsing than buying this time around, unfortunately). We went for 5 days, which I can’t really call a full vacation, but more like a very long weekend. But I don’t care, I NEEDED this. (I needed it so much that my working-mom guilt took a completely back seat, to my surprise.)

I always hear advice about trying to disconnect on vacation, to not check email, put away your Blackberry. And in theory, I love it — the idea of not working AT ALL for a few days is something… well, as much as I love what I do, it’s a dream. But I am an entrepreneur who is running a small company without a ton of staff (although with a small but incredibly energized and helpful team!) and I can’t afford to completely disconnect. So I promised my husband that I would only work for 1-2 hours a day and only from the lobby of the hotel, where there was free wireless Internet.

I stuck to my promise for the first two days. On the third day, I realized, while we were still in bed in the morning, that I’d forgotten to send an important email. I asked my husband if I could break my promise and hook up to the Internet from our room and he kindly agreed, assuming after a few minutes I’d get back to bed. I ended up working for two hours, which I know, I know, wasn’t part of the deal. But… that turned out to be my most relaxing day in Montreal. I got a ton done in the morning and felt that I could not think about work for a few hours during the day (I am sounding pathetic, I know, but this is an achievement for me.) Because I got a bunch of stuff done early on, my mind was clear, I felt accomplished and in touch enough, and had trust that things were OK.

None of us Americans take enough vacations, I am completely guilty of this. We work too much. We work too much overtime and working overtime is becoming a de-facto expectation. So yes, I think it’s a great idea to try and get a break and not work when you’re on vacation. But I learned something else this time around: If doing a bit of work helps you feel connected, in touch, and more relaxed that things are under control, do it and don’t feel guilty about it.

Do you do a bit of work on vacation or do you completely disconnect?