Sunday Reflection: On Break

It's spring break time here in Minnesota-- which seems a little odd, since we are getting a half-foot of snow this weekend, piling up on top of all the snow that we already have.

So, I'll go skiing.  IPLawGuy and I do every year for spring break.

I think having breaks from the usual is part of how we are supposed to work. We are programmed for cycles: to celebrate holidays at the same time every year, to recognize the change of the seasons, and to sometimes put down our tools. I have the luxury of a job--teaching--that has a precise rhythm. We have new students every fall, and we graduate others in the late spring.  There is a poignancy to it, those starts and ends, the people who are at the center of your work coming and going.

When IPLG and I are skiing, we have different styles. I just ski, eat, and watch basketball on TV. He is usually working, even on the ski lift. I'm kind of surprised he hasn't found a way to take calls as we go down the slopes. I suppose it's because his work is different-- most adults do not get spring break, after all.

Perhaps he gets his cyclical reality in other ways. He's Episcopalian, and they take the liturgical year very seriously: the liturgies are in a cycle, of course, and the whole church changes with each season: Lent has a whole decorative and costuming theme, which abruptly changes at the onset of Easter. I love that.

How do you get yours?