#springbreak | itsawonderfilledlife

Posts Tagged ‘#springbreak’

Rest

Posted in life, tagged #cometome, #cometomeandiwillgiveyourest, #differentformsofrest, #getcreative, #renewed, #rest, #shutoutdistractions, #springbreak, #weary on March 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Spring break has begun for school-aged kids (and school staff) in my area. I always feel this is the most perfectly timed break in the school year, for it pivots us from winter to spring, to the final countdown to summer.

For some this break represents time to travel, for others to visit family and friends, or to read, or sleep late, or explore local restaurants, shops and entertainments and for others to do tasks around the house such as spring cleaning or renovations.

Rest looks different for everyone.

For me, the thought of sitting on the sofa watching TV, packing everyday with social events, or travelling are not the most restful ways to spend time. Don’t get me wrong, I love to visit with friends, to see new sights and to watch a good BCD (British Crime Drama). But, for me, rest is most favorably attained by being creative, physically building, painting and renovating, with no voices other than those of the podcasts teaching me and crime stories. This is pure bliss, restful to my body (though pain relievers are sometimes needed), mind and soul.

My ‘to do’ list this break is … rather sizeable, as I am doing a mini renovation in our kitchen. I have removed a couple of hanging cabinets, built and installed boxes above the existing wall cabinets, added trim, crown molding, removed the old tile backsplash (along with the gyproc). Now I need to replace that gyproc, paint my cabinets and trim, order countertops, paint walls, install lighting and (in the adjoining sunroom) install engineered wood flooring. I know that I will sleep well, be challenged, fill my cup and feel such joy in the finished product.

Rest will not just come to me through the physical work, but also the podcast reading through the Bible (I highly recommend The Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz, which is also available on Youtube), as well as listening to numerous sermons from people who share the Word in diverse, educational and inspirational ways that challenge me to live differently, to walk with Christ each day.

This is the rest I need, the rest I long for. It is an opportunity for me to shut out the distractions, the discouragements, the noise of the world. To get my hands dirty with a taste of the creative, the redemptive work of God, all while being immersed in Him through the reading and teachings from his word.

And so, I approach this renewing time, being reminded of the words in Matthew 11:28 :

Come to me,
all you
who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.

Read Full Post »

Two Years Ago …

Posted in community, tagged #learningfromcovid, #loveoneanother, #pandemic, #springbreak, #twoyearsago, #unprecedentedtimes, #vocid19, #whathavewelearned, 2yearsagotoday on March 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

In my neck of the Pacific Northwest woods, today is the final day of school before Spring Break.

The math teachers will all have unit ending tests (to avoid dealing with the bubbling excitement in their students), the English teachers will have silent reading as a plan for the day, the teachers of humanities will plan on videos for each class, the PE teachers will plan on dodgeball and the classes of practical application (shop, foods, textiles, film, etc.) … well, if they were wise they would call a substitute in for the day.

Today, though, my thoughts are somewhere else …

My thoughts are on this last day before Spring Break, two years ago. When the WHO (World Health Organization) declared Covid 19 a Pandemic. When things were changing … ALL OVER THE WORLD.

Words like pandemic, Covid, unprecedented, precautions, closures and cancellations became part of our everyday vernacular.

And, I wonder, two years later
what have we learned?

Have we become stronger or stressed?

Has our faith or our fear grown?

Have we grown in compassion or a critical spirit?

Have we become better or bitter?

I can only speak for myself, when I say, hard times are … hard! They squeeze me and the results are often not the most positive reactions. I can easily lean towards criticism, sarcasm, doubt, fear and even superiority.

And these past two years have been … hard.

But, one thing I have learned is that God does not allow anything to be useless in our lives … even the hard stuff. So …

what have we learned?

Here is what I hope we, as human souls have learned, during this unprecedented time :

to number our days … to not waste a day, a breath that God has given us
to look at our productivity differently … that doing is not the same as being
to not fill our calendars … more things to do, places to go do not make life better
to care for our neighbors … to check in on those who might be isolated
to say thank-you … to health care workers, grocery store shelf stockers, delivery workers
that there is more than one way to do a task … schooling and working from home can work (and, for some, might work better)
to be okay with our own company … maybe even enlightened by who God made us to be
to try new things … make bread, do a puzzle, paint a wall, try a new exercise routine
to love those under our roofs … who we are called to love
to appreciate the privilege of physical, corporate worship … maybe something many of us have taken for granted and even lost the love of this togetherness

Though the pandemic has yet to have been declared over, though anything can happen to reignite this viral spread, I think many of us are feeling like our lives are slowly returning to a more normal state. I do hope that what we move towards is not how it was, but a new and improved version … one with margin in our days, appreciation for others, an openness to trying new things and a renewed reliance on our God.

Read Full Post »

Spring Break is in the Air

Posted in life, tagged #covid19, #pandemicyear, #rest, #schoolstaff, #springbreak, #springbreakisintheair on March 12, 2021| 2 Comments »

Never has a spring break been so anticipated by so many.

I recognize that not all have a spring break in their life, through their own work or through the children in their lives. For those who do, my thoughts may reverberate in your own heart and mind.

For some it started a week or two ago, or maybe not for weeks yet. It might be called Spring or March or reading break. It might be just a week, or two.

Whatever it looks like, this break is starting differently than last year’s, when we were introduced to lock down, closures, cancellations and Tiger King as people all over the world were repatriating to their home countries.

Though we Canadian’s are still not jetting off to sunny destinations (lest we would have to quarantine for two weeks upon return to our home country), I think we are thankful that, just like the days of growing daylight, vaccine rollouts are providing the light in the darkness for our constitutions.

For those who work within learning environments, Spring Break this year is particularly appreciated. From teachers, to custodians, to office staff, to educational assistants, to maintenance crews, to bus drivers, to administration this has been a year of stretching, additional responsibilities and fatigue like none other. Then there are the students … who have encountered at least as much change and challenge.

A year ago at home learning was being whispered about, leading to at least two months of zooms, online conferences and all of the technical issues that came with them.

When (many, but not all) classes resumed in the fall, they do so differently. Cohort became a daily used word. Online daily health checks started our days. Physical education and music classes changed significantly (and changed throughout the year). Masks became expected fashion accessories. Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize!

In many school districts, high school schedules changed exponentially from full year or half year semesters to ten week semesters, with only classes each … I even know of a district where students only have one course, for five weeks at a time (think about that … a teacher and their students are together ALL day, EVERY day for five weeks!).

Barriers were brought into the office reception area, parent-teacher interviews were completed by phone, field trips all but a faded memory and many teaching staff (in high schools) have gone without much of a break in one semester or had half a day in another (sounds good on the one hand, but ten weeks of little break from working with students does little to enhance quality of teaching).

All school staff are fatigued of being mask police …

“mask on”
“over the nose too”
“mask on in the hallways”
and, similarly,
“no, you cannot eat in the hallways”

and, believe me, the response is not always compliant or kind.

Then there is Covid itself. Schools all have staff who, themselves, are immunocompromised. For them, going to work could feel like a daily play of Russian roulette. Or those who live with loved ones whose health is equally fragile. The thought of possibly bringing a virus home, that could have much more severe consequences than just a cough and malaise, has been a daily fear.

So, Spring Break, we welcome you, with open arms …

Read Full Post »

A Break From the Everyday

Posted in WONDER, tagged #abreakfromtheeveryday, #springbreak, #todolist, Rest on March 18, 2014| 3 Comments »

design1

As of today, the countdown really ends!

Hubby joins our younger two and myself on Spring Break (the oldest already had her reading week).

I LOVE Spring Break! It is such a productive two weeks off.

So far I have :

accumulated three bags of ‘stuff’ to go to the thrift store
purchased crack filler, and filled all holes in the room to be painted, as well as one to do touch-ups
had a neighbor over for dinner
experimented with two dinner recipes, granola bars and an apple cake
eliminated clothes that our son has outgrown
signed one kid up for summer camp and work camp
raked, trimmed and tidied our back garden, accumulating five garbage cans of yard waste
had lunch with our son
had lunch with our daughter, a friend and her daughter
had two ‘play dates’ (are they still called that when they are teens?)
tidied my bathroom vanity
and got a head cold

Every break from school results in the same scenario. I am so excited each night to have the next day off, that I struggle to get to sleep. Then, when I awaken at ungodly morning hours (like 5am), I am too excited about the clean-slate day to be able to get back to sleep. The result is that I get sick.

But, a swirly headache, and sandpaper throat are not going to keep me down …

I have a to do list to finish.

And that is how I approach each break … as a to do list.

Not that it is a bad thing to clear the cobwebs in our minds of all the things we never seem to have time for, as accomplishing so many of these things provides head space so that we can then do more of what is really important.

But,

maybe, just maybe, part of the reason we have such breaks is so that we actually slow down, and refresh?

Hum, I need to consider that …

after I give Hubby his To Do list 😉 .

Read Full Post »