by marthafitat55
I remember when I was an undergraduate — I thought reading breaks were the bee’s knees. What a concept — a period of time in the middle of a busy term with deadlines looming — where I could hit the pause button on classes and catch my breath, literally and figuratively.
I am a believer in vacations in the summer. I also try not to work on weekends, but I am busy nonetheless being an adult, catching up on laundry, engaging in meal preparation, and planning for the week ahead.
I’ve had an especially intense six months. So when one set of plans fell through for a mini-break, I immediately sought a back up. I noticed I was really excited by the thought of a few days away and it occurred to me that even if you aren’t a student, mid-term breaks are just the ticket. They are, in fact, the pause that refreshes.
While a full fledged vacation is very appealing, we can’t always disappear for three weeks as responsibilities, finances, time, and space aren’t always available or adjustable to meet our needs for respite.
My dictionary defines respite as “a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant.” To be relieved of something is often used negatively as one can be relieved of a responsibility or duty. And I like that. I want to be relieved of some of the emotional weight I have been carrying as I adult in my 60s.
But to be relieved, to gain a respite, also means to receive “a feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress.” We’ve all had a lot to deal with during the pandemic, what with global warming, full out wars, and ongoing/increasing experiences of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia.
While I regularly take a week’s break in the summer to go offgrid (but not in tents — did that and got the badges in Girl Guides, lo those many years ago), I have not applied that same approach to other seasons of the year.
I’m looking forward to this mid-winter break and I have already started making plans for the mid-spring and midsummer ones as well. Whether I call them mid-term breaks or reading weekends, I am pretty sure they will become a regular part of my mental health practice in the future.
Because we all need time to catch our breath and return refreshed, relieved, and refocused.
How about you — what kinds of mini breaks do you engage in, especially those that do not require major infusions of cash?
