Recess

My friend Jana summed it up the other day: I need recess. She was at her children's school and as she watched them run and laugh, play on the swings, and climb the monkey bars, she realized that adults don't play. Think about it: when was the last time you just lived in the moment and enjoyed life?
It's been far too long for me. It seems every moment since spring break has been full. Of course, some of the stuff has been good, but I have been flitting from soccer to making dinner to band concerts to work to cleaning the bathroom to church to political work to doing laundry almost without taking a breath.
I haven't scrapbooked a thing in months. I haven't completed the headboard I started late last summer, partly because I need Rob's help on it and, well, he's busy, too. I haven't rehabbed a piece of furniture, sewn a stitch, or spent five minutes editing photos, entering genealogy data or doing one of a dozen tutorials to help me learn to use the new camera well.
I'm not playing. And boy, am I a drag. I want to be fun, to have fun. But my creative well has run dry, and I am tired. I need recess.
I carved out a little time today and got my nails done. I spent some time mending books for the school. It's not scrapbooking, but it's tape and paper and that's a start. I mailed off another of those obituaries I listed in August and was glad to do so.
All of those things are bringing me closer to the me I want to be -- closer to the things I do that are important to me, but also the things that feed my soul.
My kids have 3 days left in their school year. My responsibilities won't all go away then, but I am going to really try to make this summer a recess for all of us. By doing so I hope I can help us all feed our souls all summer, fill up that creative well, and add some fun into our lives. We all need it.