one day, parker & i were stopped at a stop light, there was a girl on a run (because we live in provo and there are ALWAYS girls on runs... it doesn't even matter what the weather is...) she too, got to the red light. when she got to the cross walk button she pushed the button and then continued to jog in place.
parker turned to me and said, "i hate it when people jog in place."
and then he turned and looked at the girl, (our windows were rolled up) and yelled, "JUST TAKE A BREAK!"
i laughed out loud for a good while. but then we talked about how that just makes us feel even worse because we don't ever go running and if we did, we would DEFINITELY be the people that don't jog in place at the stop lights. we would take breaks for sure. i remember saying that i'm just not an overachiever when it comes to exercise. i would work really hard to finish first in all of my sports teams because the person that finishes first gets the longest break-- that's the kind of athlete i was and i thought it was because i was lazy.
but recently, the phrase, "JUST TAKE A BREAK" has gone through my mind over and over and over again. clearly, not for exercise purposes. but for other things.
like school.
as i've talked to people i come in contact with, the questions "are you going to school?" and "what are you going to school for?" come up at least once in every conversation. and every time i struggle to know how to answer because while yes, i currently am going to school, i won't be in the fall. for a lot of different reasons, but one big one is because, well, i need a break.
maybe you think i'm lazy. maybe you think i'm making bad life choices. maybe you're thinking, "it's easier to finish college when you don't have kids!" and maybe you're right. but maybe you're not. trust me when i say that i've thought about this choice a lot. poor parker has had to listen to me go back and forth about it for an entire summer.
but the choice is made and i am more stoked for this fall than i can even tell you. i need a break, so i'm taking one. and that's okay!
(side note: i'm not taking a break from my entire life, i have two jobs + the whole wedding photography business i'm trying to run, so i'm plenty busy! i just needed a break from school.)
maybe you don't need to take breaks when you go running. maybe you don't need to take breaks from school. maybe you have kids and you feel like you can't take breaks. maybe your work doesn't allow you to take breaks or makes you work on holidays (*cough* frontier secure *cough* just kidding, i'm super grateful for parker's job). maybe you're going 1000000000 miles a minute and don't know how to slow down. maybe you have to work over time or more than one job to stay on top of your bills.
but maybe, just maybe, you're just afraid to take a break. because seriously, what will people think? will they think you're lazy? will they think you're making poor life choices? will they ask you if you're ever going to go back to college/work/etc.? will they ask you what you do in your spare time? will they assume you're not busy?
probably.
i often feel like it's almost looked down upon to take a break or two. but let me tell you something that i've learned from my dear friend, Jeffrey R. Holland
(i've met him twice & listened to him speak countless times so that makes us friends even if he doesn't know who i am)
"Fatigue is the common enemy of us all—so slow down, rest up, replenish, and refill. Physicians promise us that if we do not take time to be well, we most assuredly will take time later on to be ill." [Like a Broken Vessel, October 2013 General Conference]
so don't feel bad for taking some time to replenish yourself. slow down for a second and rest. don't worry about what people think-- even though i know that is easier to say than it is to do. step away from social media for a day, weekend, week, month, whatever and rest. trust me, it'll be okay! i'm cheering you on!
and if that doesn't work, remember this:
JUST TAKE A BREAK!
this isn't sponsored, but i do want to help out my good buddy & brother-in-law Adam, so if you're in the business of looking for a hammock go here.