Personal Day

 

I remember chatting with an older mom several years ago and listening to her extol the virtues of allowing your kids a “personal day”.  You know what I mean, a day off from school, homework, life in general.  At the time I admit I considered it an irresponsible philosophy.  Maybe it is.  I don’t know.  But I have also spent a lot of time thinking about it over the years.

I was raised that you go to school.  Everyday.  Unless you were deathly ill.  Period. 

Today I made a departure from everything I had been taught about school attendance.  I let my son stay home for no reason other than he really needed a break.  He is a very sensitive boy and the stress of school takes an incredible toll on his spirit.  We are trying to figure out how to help him cope with things proactively, but in the meantime I felt compassion was in order.  We explained this was not a new precedent, but rather a rare exception.  We will have to see if it proves valuable in the long run.

I spent a lot of time thinking today about how important breaks are.  Yes, vacations are nice, but truly playing hooky once is a while is good for the soul.  It reminds you what life is about.  That sometimes work is just work and you have to set it aside to live – just unstructured-crazy-do-nothing live.  My son helped me with the dishes when I asked, but other than that I told him his job was to rest, relax and play.  Emotional health in this fast-paced world is fragile.  Adults take personal days – paid time-off – when life gets too crazy, why not a kid? 

I want my children to know that it’s okay to say “no” sometimes.  And that being overwhelmed is a part of life that they can take charge of (I know that is a dangling participle, but I don’t know how to fix it without the sentence sounding weird).  The power to stop and slow down and breathe is within each of us, but it is a skill that has to be recognized and practiced.    I am not advocating bailing on commitments or using “personal days” to escape responsibilities.  But I am advocating recognizing when life has gotten the best of you and slowing down so that you can get the best of life.