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“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
-John Lubbock
Summer vacation, when I was a child in East Boston, seemed like it went on forever. I spent my days outside playing with friends, coming in for lunch, heading back out until dinner, and coming home for the day when the streetlights went on. This was the routine for the entire summer, with the exception of a few days when the tides were right at Revere Beach and my mother and aunt would load me, my brothers, and my cousins into the station wagon for a day at the shore.
When I was an active administrator, I would stop wearing a watch on the last day of school, a tradition that I still carry on today. It served as a reminder that summer was beginning and that I should slow down my professional life and schedule. Maybe the removal of my watch brings me back to those summer days growing up in East Boston, when time didn't matter and all I was worried about was who would win the “half-ball” game and getting a cup of the best “slush” I ever had from a small storefront on Bennington Street. I think I miss the “slush” most of all.
I have found that, even without my watch, I still struggle with slowing things down. My July work calendar is starting to fill up, and I’m looking ahead to August to determine which districts open before Labor Day as I build timelines for projects NESDEC will be engaged in. My calendar also has days blocked off to spend with family, short mini-vacations, and sleepover plans with my granddaughters. There will be time for Papa to spend time riding bikes, boogie boarding at the beach, and playing wiffle ball in the backyard.
I hope you have some type of summer ritual that allows you to recognize that it’s okay to move a little slower, breathe a little easier, and create a friendlier work calendar. Summer provides you with the opportunity to be idle without the guilt. Take advantage of it.
Dave
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