With summer upon us, I have enjoyed hearing about the range of activities from exotic vacations to stay-cations that many of you have planned. I have also heard from some who haven’t yet made plans and from others who don’t intend to take any time off at all. Those latter conversations concern me.

We all know that what we do here is important. Not only to those we serve but also to ourselves through the sense of accomplishment and joy that comes from our work. We have both the difficult challenge and rewarding privilege of changing the lives of our students and their families. Like you, I am fiercely proud of what we do, but I am mindful that for us to be at our best we must take care of ourselves.

Plan to do what works best for you to refresh yourself. Some of us need significant blocks of time away. Others are at our best after short, frequent breaks. Still others have learned the benefits of daily meditation. Some of us do all of the above. Regardless of what works for any of us, we all need to figure out how to disconnect and spend time with ourselves and those we care about.

I know how difficult it is for many of us who get our greatest satisfaction from helping others to put ourselves first. I also know that if we don’t take care of ourselves we cannot take care of others.

Please take care of yourself and I look forward to seeing you in August!