Model Behavior in Everyday Ramblings

I was a privileged kid in many ways. We had a big house; we had plenty of food, my mother stayed at home to care for the house and us. I had a brother and a bike in a neighborhood where there were a fair amount of kids our age that felt safe. And we were encouraged to be imaginative. My two older sisters were very cool we thought.

We’d get up on summer days and eat something and as soon as we could, we got out of the house. We came home when skinned knees needed attention or to get lunch or for dinner. My brother occasionally had structured activities on the weekends, a gymnastics class, something like that but basically we did not have, nor did we feel like we needed planned activities. We went to the library once a week or so, that was the big family event.

We rarely went out to eat; even more rarely went shopping, seriously, maybe once in the whole summer other than to the grocery store.

We tried things, we made up games, we did stuff that had my parents known about it they would have been concerned like jumping off things. I was big on that and fearless. We captured and investigated bugs and let them go. We didn’t have pets other than maybe a guinea pig or a gerbil or two something in a cage.

I am thinking here of two or three particular summers but when I think of summer this is what I remember. Lying in the grass looking at the clouds, the bees in the clover, reading a book up in a tree, fresh sweet plums and my beloved blue Schwinn bike.

The neighborhood and house are still there as is the grocery store we shopped at but the demographic has changed. We wouldn’t have been able to afford to live there now.

This month the theme at church is rest.

The sermon yesterday was about being lazy and having days where one is totally useless.

40% of Americans don’t take any vacation during the summer. I am seeing definite signs of burnout in my young cohort at work. We have to constantly be on, responsive to whatever comes our way and honestly compared to other departments we are seriously understaffed and never get a break. So I was thrilled for his sake that he finally got it and asked for days off over the next few months late last week.

Well thrilled and frustrated because we have no back up, when he is out I have to do his job and mine and I can’t keep up. I can’t do it.

The only help they are offering us is a very part time person, who is already overwhelmed and does not have the right skill sets to do our job and we are stuck taking what they offer because if we refuse they will say… well you get the picture.

I am also being asked to teach rest, restoration and relaxation this month in my classes. I am still trying to figure out how to frame this for a mostly retired group. The needs are different; they truly are, between those of us working and those of us not. And they are also different for those of us working at jobs that are not sensitive to our needs and those working in professions that they love.

But the best thing I know I can do to explore this topic is to actually, well, rest!

I did that yesterday. I live streamed the church service and admit to using my foam roller to release connective tissue while doing so. I went for a modest walk, I cooked, I read, I did a continuing education yoga program and I played with the cats.

Carlo is having a controlled substance problem with the wire toy Kes brought up a few weeks ago. I have to hide it from him or he will keep playing with it past the point of exhaustion. So we did 15 minute sessions.

Wish me luck tonight. I can’t wait to see if I have new students and who they will be.