The title says quite a lot. I feel like this should be the only item on the blog, because of its importance, however real it may be.

Jobs wrote an email to the team at Apple, and since then has been published in the PR section. It reads:

Team,

I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

Steve

I’m personally glad that the man is taking time to better himself. I love Apple. That has only happened since Jobs has returned, so I naturally connect the two as inseparable and codependent. But I’m with the other pundits in the blogsphere in that Apple can, and will, survive without Jobs. Maybe he knows this and that is the real reason he is taking a leave of absence. I tend to think that if he wasn’t sure things would continue, he would probably stay until his death, or the Board of Directors got up the courage to make him stay home.

Will Steve actually return this summer, to wow us with some new gadgetry at WWDC 2009? Who knows. I sincerely hope that all is well and even if he decides not to return, he can at least enjoy time with his family. The man has brought so much to Apple, the computing industry, and my life, that he deserves a break if he wants one.

Here’s to Jobs’ return. But if not, to a long and happy life doing whatever the hell he pleases. And if that’s selling some new product, I might just buy it.