Lesson learned: Take a break

School life has a nice structure to it—you go to kindergarten for nine months, then you have three months off, you go to first grade for nine months, then three months off, second grade for nine months, three months off. And there are built-in breaks throughout the school day—there's morning recess, lunch recess, and as many hokey-pokeys, chicken dances, simon says, wiggle getter outters, and dance parties as I deem necessary. It's a nice system. You work hard and then you get a break.

The tricky part is when school ends. For most of the non-students and non-teachers out there, there are not built-in breaks. We move from job to job, from child to child, from task to task, from trial to trial, without a chance to come up for air. We just charge ahead at full speed, hoping that there will be a moment to breathe somewhere in the future. We put things on the back burner, saying we'll do them when such-and-such is over or when the deadline passes or when the kids are older or when we have more free time, but very seldom are we ever able to bring those things back onto a front burner.

I love teaching, but I must say that I am very grateful for the break I have had—the chance to take some things off of the back burner. I've been able to rest and recharge and reset. There is something so good about taking a break from the normal pace of things. We all need it.

I know most people don't have the luxury of a couple months off every summer, but I'm learning that there are ways to take small breaks along the way, even when you're busy. The break might be a whole day, an afternoon, a lunch break, a bathroom break, or even just a breather. As President Uchtdorf said, "We would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most."

Take a break. You will be so much happier, patient, healthier, calmer, and then productive when you do get back to work. Take a moment to take care of yourself, read a book, have a little conversation with God when you're stuck in traffic, call a friend and laugh so hard that your stomach and cheeks ache, close your eyes and take some deep breaths, listen to a favorite conference talk during your lunch break, take a quick nap (or a long one), make a list of things you want to improve, make a list of all the things you're doing right, stay in the shower for five extra minutes, sit on a bench and people-watch, do something different than your normal routine. Take a break. It will do your soul so much good.

Today is my last official day of summer break and I feel like it's perfect timing. I'm starting to get that itch again. You know... the desire to label everything, organize, color coordinate, cutesify things, laminate, and have 25 six-year olds under my care and direction seven hours a day for the next nine months. But even as the summer ends and school begins, I'm going to try really hard to remember to "slow down a little" and occasionally take a break. (Please remind me of that last sentence a couple weeks from now when I am in the thick of things, stressed out, and exhausted...)