Be There

Image by Curtis and Eric via FlickrMany of us have spring break or fall break (depending on the hemisphere.)

It is VITAL to relax and rest and few of us get enough of it.

I'm profoundly reminded of this in the excellent book The Way We're Working Isn't Working that demonstrates that those who take ALL their vacation get 7% higher performance reviews than those who don't!

If you could put three things on your spring break list:

• Rest
  
  Sleep and do not apologize. We need eight hours. Some pretend to need less but again, read the book I listed above for the research on our perpetual sleep deficit. Reading that book has freed me to REST and take naps and I'm performing better for it. (I've been doing this for two weeks and look at how many blog posts I've written, for goodness sakes.)
  
• Relax
  
  Just hang out. Do some things you enjoy. Take care of yourself. Read a book that has nothing to do with anything. (I read the Jack Reacher novels for my relaxation.)
  
• Reach Out
  
  There are probably many people in your family or neighborhood who aren't connected to social media. If they are, take time to Skype someone you love from far away. If they are not connected on a computer - take time to go see Aunt Josephine or Uncle Tom. Set aside an hour or two and take them something they like to eat. Bring a photo album. Take time.
  
  If your relative has great stories and you want to preserve them, take a video camera and record those conversations and stories for your children and grandchildren. Feel the generations ahead of you sitting behind that camera lens looking over your shoulder. Savor the moment and the stories. (These DVD's make great Christmas presents!)
  
  When we spend time with older people we can gain perspective on where we're heading ourselves. If you think you'll never get old then one day you'll wake up and realize you ARE old! ;-)
  
  I read about a study asking older people what they had done more of in their life and one was "leave a legacy." (The others are "reflected more" and "taken more risks".)
  
  When we reach out, we leave a legacy to our children of the example we should be but we also make ourselves better.
  
  If you don't have immediate family that is older, then find a convalescent home. One of the things that my sisters like to do is to get allergen free lotion and go into convalscent homes - older people love having lotion rubbed on their hands. Just gently rub lotion (if they like it) and talk to them. Sing if they want to. If they think you're someone from long a go. That is OK. Or make something ahead of time like a picture drawn by a child or a photo frame with a picture of a beach or some place in it.
  
  Whatever you are in your faith walk  - this is a great thing to do. If you're a Christian, we're supposed to do this out of love for Christ. Take time to reach out to those who aren't connected digitally! REMEMBER!!  Whatever you hand out is often handed back to you! If people visit you as much when you are old as you visit the elderly - will you be lonely or have lots of company?

I hope you have a great spring break. I plan on going completely off the grid for a few days. If I get my posts written and scheduled, you may see them post but some comments may have to be moderated when I return.

We NEED this time - let's use it well and let's never forget those among us who are not connected digitally. If we want to be a great generation of teachers and parents it will be reflected upon how we treat the generations before us.