Karen GoatKeeper's Blog - Posts Tagged "taking-time-off"
Hamster Wheels
A report came up on the radio news the other day about teenage suicides. These weren't the outcasts or shunned. These were the popular, smart kids with good grades.
Why?
Of course there was analysis and speculations. Of course there was hand wringing. Of course there were plans for intervention.
What struck me was that these kids were so very busy. They were overwhelmed with their lives.
Schools value perfect attendance. My mother didn't. As a normal rule we were expected to be up and off to school on time. Yet every once in a while we got to stay home for a trip to the beach or the park or anywhere but school.
Why?
My mother told me years later she held one of these days when one or more of us got too frazzled. We needed some time off. Just a day to relax, get out from under the stress.
These teenagers seemed to never take a day off. They worked 24/7, 365 days a year.
Long ago the lumber camps found working a six day week increased production even though one day had no one working but the cooks. Everyone needs a break now and then. Including me. Except in November.
But maybe I should remember my mother's wisdom and get out of my hamster wheel life for a time. Maybe we all should. And maybe we should teach our kids to do the same.
Suicide is a waste of a precious life. It's even more of a waste if the cause is only looking for a way out of the hamster wheel.
Why?
Of course there was analysis and speculations. Of course there was hand wringing. Of course there were plans for intervention.
What struck me was that these kids were so very busy. They were overwhelmed with their lives.
Schools value perfect attendance. My mother didn't. As a normal rule we were expected to be up and off to school on time. Yet every once in a while we got to stay home for a trip to the beach or the park or anywhere but school.
Why?
My mother told me years later she held one of these days when one or more of us got too frazzled. We needed some time off. Just a day to relax, get out from under the stress.
These teenagers seemed to never take a day off. They worked 24/7, 365 days a year.
Long ago the lumber camps found working a six day week increased production even though one day had no one working but the cooks. Everyone needs a break now and then. Including me. Except in November.
But maybe I should remember my mother's wisdom and get out of my hamster wheel life for a time. Maybe we all should. And maybe we should teach our kids to do the same.
Suicide is a waste of a precious life. It's even more of a waste if the cause is only looking for a way out of the hamster wheel.
