At the time her son was only 10. Her husband, Terry Howald, thought it would be a great opportunity for her. He had some friends who didn't understand it, but he believed that if he didn't let Sally follow her dreams, it could really hurt the marriage. In the end, Terry said his wife's time away improved their marriage because it helped Sally feel good about herself. She also appreciated Terry's overwhelming demonstration of love in letting her go.
Some people definitely see a marriage sabbatical as a selfish vacation.
But Jarvis argues that the more you do things to fill up yourself, the more you have to give to others. Jarvis concedes that the definition and length of a sabbatical is vague and it changes from woman to woman. It might be just three weeks, or could be two years, as it was in the case of the woman who left her family at age 50 to pursue her lifelong dream of joining the Peace Corps. Georgia O'Keefe spent summers painting in New Mexico, away from husband Alfred Stieglitz. Writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, author of The Yellow Wallpaper , toured three months a year and spent the rest at home.