Summer is over...

Labor day marks the unofficial end of summer. Don't be mad at me, I'm just the messenger. It does however mark the beginning of a new school year for students, more alone time for stay-at-home parents, but more importantly, less free time for most of us. During the summer, many people take vacation to enjoy the warm weather, the beaches, and to see family. A lot of people also take time to volunteer because their schedules aren't as busy. Most students don't have classes, deadlines aren't as frequent due to summer recesses, and many educators aren't in their classrooms everyday.

The phrase, "time is money," is significant in our culture, especially in this economic hard-time we are facing as a collective nation. It is necessary to realize how important making money and saving for our futures, but also recognizing that our time is still valuable and needed in the volunteering world as well. If everybody who reads this blog could take some time and remember what it feels like after giving some of your time for others, the craziness of life now that summer is over might not be as tough to deal with. We should feel blessed that we have lives in which we have so many things going on at all times. Too many of the poor and marginalized wish they could have the opportunities and experiences we take for granted.

I challenge you all to take some time, even if it is just to say good morning to the beggar on the street, because really, our lives aren't THAT busy.