This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

A Breath Of Fresh Air

It's February. School vacation. We all need a break. We need down time and time to connect. and some time to chill out and relax.

 

Life is busy. We get caught up in our day to day life busy-ness. Our dogs see to it that I get out everyday. Long walks and short runs, sunshine and blue skies or wild winds, I'm out there. I'm grateful for the time alone with the dogs for some time to laugh at them and lighten up, let my mind wander and see life from a different perspective. I need that. It's not an option...for the dogs or for me.

Whether we have kids, dogs, jobs, volunteer work or all of the above, it's easy to get overscheduled, overtired and worn out. Home computers, lap tops and cell phones add much more to the complexity of life. E-mails, social media, television, radio add more. For one reason or another, we have less downtime and quiet to relieve all of our life static. Technology may connect us to others at a distance but it has the potential to disconnect us from the people right here in front of us.

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Our kids are on vacation this week. We've already taken some time to get away as a family...just us. We need that. We went up to the cape for a few days and it was wonderful. Cape Cod, our summer place. Whenever we're up there, we live a simpler life...beach, family, friends, sailing, swimming, fishing and exploring.We spend lots of time in the natural environment. Indoors it's simpler too. We don't have TV.

A no TV zone! Yup. We all love it. Maybe it's the Cape Cod air but I think it's the missing antenna. I think without life being snagged away in half hour or hour chunks, it makes a difference and this is coming from me, a woman who grew up with I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch and even TV dinners on occasion!

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When TV isn't an option, each one of us spends more time reading, talking, playing games, laughing together and just hanging around. I like that. It's a good thing to get away to charge our personal batteries. It doesn't have to be far and I know it can't be all of the time, but it sure is nice to get a good fix of uninterrupted family every once in awhile. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?