It’s summer, and I will speak for myself that the finish line we just crossed was probably the definition of “so close, yet still so far away” those last few weeks. Most school years, we are definitely ready for the school year to come to a close, but this school year was extra extra.
I remember during my classroom days, always waiting for the school year to come to a close to get a handle on things that may have been neglected during the bustle of the school year. And then the last day would arrive and my summer would start and all the things I had put on hold and had promised to accomplish during the impending break now seemed so overwhelming. I often would feel like I didn’t know where to start! But start I would and after a week, I would still feel just as exhausted. A few years in to my teaching career I learned a simple trick: I always gave myself a complete period of rest before I jumped in to whatever task(s) I had planned for my summer. This period of rest and what it might look like may differ from person to person depending on their individual circumstances. ( Hello, parents with children home for the summer… are we ever really off?) But in any case, just a chance to catch my breath and to enjoy a slower pace if only for a day, seemed to do wonders for my productivity.
So, the message for today is to cut yourself some slack. Give yourself permission to enjoy a slower pace or at least plan for a bit of down time. Your health and wellness are important. When you teach, you touch the future and that is a pretty amazing place to be!
Deanna Westedt 