It’s spring break at my institution this week. I always end up working during spring break because most of the students that I teach are in the master’s program for special education licensure and they are working in our K-12 schools this week. I try to accommodate their schedules so typically give them a week off during their February or April break, and do an online class this week during spring break. This usually means that I have no break at all because my undergraduates have this March break, and are in classes during the school’s February and April break.
I have no classes to teach right now, but will be working this week on the elementary math research that I referenced in my Friday post. The last time I actually took a break during March was back in college. Two years I did an Alternative Spring Break working with a group from the university on Habitat for Humanities project. The other two years I went with the cycling team down to Florida and we raced and trained during the week. I never participated in the typical spring break that is associated with college. My Habitat Spring breaks led me to Pennsylvania my first year, which was cold and led to a lot of indoor painting due to the weather. The other Habitat break I knew to go South so co-led the trip down to Atlanta. During that spring break the weather was warmer and I spent a lot of the week outside siding a house. These spring break trips consisted of 8-10 people who did not know each other before the trip driving in a van to the destination and then sleeping in a church. We went shopping and cooked together in church meal hall. Overall, I thought it was a very positive experience and led to some friendships that were more established than people I saw/hung out with regularly at the university. The spring breaks that I went with the cycling team consisted of a van ride down South, as well. Cycling was not an NCAA sanctioned sport, but instead was a club sport, at UNH so we did not get the busses that I was used to having with the cross-country and track teams. The cycling spring breaks had us stay in Pennsylvania for the first weekend for racing, and then continue south driving straight-through until we hit Clearwater. The women’s team had one house and the men’s team had two houses (just due to the number of people) and we made all of our own meals during this week, as well. We have double sessions—riding in the morning, which was followed by eating lunch and sitting by the pool, and then another training session in the late afternoon. This was followed by an evening of all hanging out together at one house as we had a cookout, and heard about the training we would be doing the following day. Reflecting on these spring breaks, this week has never really been about relaxing. It’s just been about channeling my energy differently. My brother, Michael, would probably tell you that I need to learn how to relax, and I would probably agree with that. Relaxing is not something I do naturally and it’s not something that I really find enjoyable—probably because it is so foreign to me. Can you train yourself to relax and find enjoyment in it? Am I missing out because I don’t do this naturally? When I am sick, I can sit on the couch for a little while—until the kids are jumping on me—but that’s about the only time I relax—when I am so run-down that it is my only option.
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AuthorKristina Scott Archives
February 2023
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