When the weary need to rest

Do we ever just rest? I'm talking about an all out, unplug from the world- no cell phones, no computers, no internet, no TV - and just give ourselves a mental break with nothing simmering? Well, I don't think I am one to talk about getting a mental break because I feel like even in the downtime of summer I am always doing something or planning for something coming up.

I looked forward to summer because I wanted to get back into blogging and now vlogging. I have started up my YouTube channel and let me tell you, it is NOT for the faint of heart. It is more work that I ever imagined. You think it is just setting up a camera and pressing record at first. I know that is what I thought and of course some minimal editing. Certainly, you don't want to put out a video that is dark, gloomy, or the sound is bad. Being a bit of a perfectionist has only amplified this challenge because it is extremely tedious to get these videos to look and feel how I want them to. It is definitely a first world problem to only worry about my YouTube channel - that is a hobby mind you - but what happens when I go back to work? I don't want it to fall by the wayside because I enjoy the outlet. I am trying to get more organized and plan out what I want to film and when. I am hoping it doesn't go down the same street as blogging...

Yet, in this downtime, I also brought a laptop bag full of work to do for the upcoming school year. Why do educators do this to ourselves? We spend countless hours within the school house for 10.5 months. Do we not deserve the time to not worry about the upcoming year, new legislative agendas, class list, how we will do the best that we can to ensure that our students get everything that they need? Yes, we do. We NEED the downtime to reset and refresh. I pass the bag on the stairs at least 10 times a day. I have not touched it but it sits there as a sneaky reminder that it is coming - fast. I have done a pretty stellar job of avoiding the work inside; I know it is there and a reminder that I really don't have a lot of time to slack off. Even though I am not physically working my mind jumps to that bag and its contents to start planning for which classrooms teachers will get, who should teach this class or that class, etc. So in essence I mentally open that bag ever time I pass it on the stairs. I may or may not have found myself rolling my eyes at this bag.

In the recent chaos of the world, I am finding it is so important to be good to yourself and to allow yourself some 'rest time'.  That precious time to unplug but it has to be more of a diligent effort with all of the social media pulls. To help me,  I have taken all of the notifications off my phone social media channels so I don't hear a ding, chime, bird chirp every five seconds. It becomes consuming and also a bit addictive. Make sure you take some time for yourself and do something you truly love to do. In the meantime, I am going to find a closet for this laptop bag ;)