PiCKLEBERRYPOP

Two years ago, my son’s high school came up with this ingenious thing called “Patriot Path” (Patriot is the school mascot). I scoffed at it at first (you’ll understand why in a minute) and thought for sure it would be ended before the first year was up. Here we are two years later, and I think it’s one of the best things they could have ever come up with for these kids.

Basically, it’s a weekly recess for these high schoolers.

Now you understand why I scoffed!

Every Sunday night, all the kids have to sign up for an activity, and there are MANY to choose from, with different options every week. On Wednesdays, classes are shortened and they get to spend nearly an hour doing what they signed up for – anything from arts & crafts to spending time in the greenhouse; lawn & board games to video games; aviation simulators to talks from local leaders & businesses. They can even use that hour to make up work or tests they may have missed if they want to. The kids l.o.v.e. it. Not only do they get to take a breath from the daily school grind and do something they LIKE at school, they meet other students that they may not have crossed paths with before and wouldn’t have crossed paths with otherwise. Here are a couple of shots from this past week’s Patriot Path:

Yes. That is a greenhouse on the school campus. It is a very large school and this town has a lot of money (there’s even a coffee shop inside and they put a small bank in last year…)

So. Where am I going with this? Well, it reminds me that at least once a week, I need to take a time out myself. School keeps me busier than … well… everything else going on in my life. It’s kind of taken over this semester. If my nose isn’t in one of my books, it’s on the computer screen doing homework or design work. When Nicky came home last Wednesday, talking about how much fun using the simulators was and that he hadn’t done it in a while, it reminded me that I hadn’t done anything ‘fun’ for at least a month.

I think all of us at some point (or maybe even at several points) get so caught up in what we NEED to do and what we’re doing for others that we need a reminder to pull back and set aside time to do something for ourselves on a regular basis. Whether you’re interested in reading, video games, gardening, shopping, bike riding, walking, writing, drawing, crafting, cooking… or even making balloon animals… pick something that interests you and then spend an hour doing that and ONLY that, once a week. If you can find an hour more than once a week, do that. Do it for you! I think you’ll find yourself more productive in the things that you need to do & a happier person doing it ♥