some days you just have to...

i woke up this morning with my only intent on going to the school to clean, organize, and work on plans for next week.  let's just say, i didn't leave my house until nearly 1 p.m. and didn't quite make it out of town.  i'm quite okay with it.

i am going to be mighty sad at the end of this break, as it was slightly reminiscent of summer: galavanting at all hours of the eve, seeing friends from home two weekends in a row, staying up til near dawn discussing God and life and the demons that we face.  i've felt friendships flourish like none-other, and to be real honest, i've felt more like myself than i have in a good long time.  i've gotten back behind the camera, and awoke long after the sun.  today, i even DIY-ed a project i've been wanting to do since i moved in ... in MAY!  i've officially registered my car in Tennessee ... 4 and 1/2 years later.  and i cleaned the baseboards in the hallway (baby steps, people!).

this break reminds me that what i do (job) does not define or limit who i am (person).  during the school year, it is hard to believe anything does or can exist outside of the realm of the classroom.  my social life certainly doesn't.  my sleep patterns fully revolve around my job, as does any friendships i fail to maintain fully.  yet, i've realized this year (partially because last year i didn't have the time or sanity to), that the more i let my career dictate every other aspect of my life, the more miserable i become with it.  this is some sort of sudden epiphany that this rhetorical conversation has brought me to.

i am not saying that you should not love what you do or be dutifully dedicated to it.  however, if you only ate rice for every meal of the day for every day of the year, you most certainly would become sick of rice (i assume, at least; unless you're asian or haitian.  they love them some rice.  i digress.).

i must make me more of a priority during this school year.  not in a neglectful way, in which i become apathetic about what i do.  but honestly, the more i do only school related things, the more apathetic i become in response to it.  the more bland the rice tastes, that i'd just rather not eat at all.

so today, i challenge myself to put one thing on my to-do list each week that i enjoy doing.  schedule a time for it, and don't push it to the back burner.  don't get caught up in the already-scheduled items like church and bible study and monday night dinners, rather take some time, go to a coffee shop and read a book.  rent a dvd from red box.  get out my sewing patterns and make something festive for the fall.  not everything on my to-do has to be about getting stuff done; that is no way to live life.