Remember the Rubber Band!

Image by Iris Hamelmann from Pixabay

At the risk of bouncing into a bit of personal story, today I want you to "Remember the rubber band!"

First of all a bit of history of the rubber band:
According to Wikipedia's resources, "The rubber band was patented in England on March 17, 1845 by Stephen Perry."   If you want to know more, I put the link in there to let you know as much or little as you may want to know.

This weekend is the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. and also the unofficial end of summer.  Here in Michigan public schools, by law are not to start until after Labor Day, although a district can request a waiver.  That waiver has been increasingly requested.  The intent was to help our state's recreation and travel industry. 

I'll not debate whether or not it helps anyone to start before Labor Day BUT that unofficial ending of summer has a tendency to reach deep into our psyches shouting: THIS IS THE LAST, THE VERY LAST OF SUMMER!!!

Image by Donna O'Donoghue from Pixabay

I've had many people recently talk to me about vacations and this brings up a ball of thinking, using the rubber band analogy.  The U.S. leads the world in unused vacation days.  The figure of 768 million went unclaimed according to a recent study of 2018.  The study gives all kinds of rationale for using or not using time off -- primarily financial for not using and the regeneration or recharging that comes with a vacation as its biggest benefit.

from PinClipArt.com

All this makes me think of the time I inherited a former supervisor's desk.  She had unused, dried-out rubber bands and also many rubber that were in use could no longer bounce back.  In many ways not using vacation or recognizing a holiday, sad as that is, seems like that desk with its sad rubber bands. 

There can be very personal reasons for not taking this weekend off.  Some people must work and may be given time off at a different (and less hectic) time.  It doesn't even have to be something special, just a time to stop the usual work.

"Staycations" was a fairly recently invented word, but even it implied doing something different and special, just in your home area.  What about doing something you like and never have enough time to do? -- gardening, cooking, sewing and crafts came to my mind, but feel free to add to that list.  For crafts, remember these?  I found them on Etsy.

https://www.catchmyparty.com/vendors/product/loom-fun-boys-cute-digital-clipart

(I love the name of "Catch My Party" for the seller of the boys version of the craft.  I'm sure you noticed both kits are essentially the same except that the girls kit is pastel-colored.)

https://www.etsy.com/nz/listing/172396932/loom-fun-girls-cute-digital-clipart

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Since the holiday has been changed so that it always includes a weekend, possibly you remember David's use of an early rubber band in the slingshot.  Just remember, the Old Testament includes a decree of a Sabbath and even a "Sabbath year" for resting fields.

In the musical, Godspell,  there's a song, "Learn Your Lessons Well", that talks about the 10 Commandments and other parts of the Bible:

First you gotta read 'em, then you gotta heed 'em, 

You never know when you're gonna need 'em.

 I'd give more of the song, but hope that little bit is acceptably brief yet lets me make my point about the need for rest.

Summer never seems to last long enough here in Michigan . . . it's why we're filled to overflowing right now with fun things to do.

After all, there's one use of a rubber band has its limits -- ultimately you can't take it with you, so Remember the Rubber Band and take a break!

from Clipartwiki.com