Work or Play?

(Artwork above: Why My Baby? by Dara Ket)

Last week, I received a postcard in the mail for the "Fifteenth Annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners." If you are in Ann Arbor during the next few weeks, you should definitely stop in! This is put on by an organization called Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) that I was privileged enough to work with when I was an undergrad at the University of Michigan. When I got home and saw this postcard in my mailbox, I thought about all the freedoms and privileges that come with being in Grad school. I decided to not take my nap that I was looking forward to that afternoon. I gathered my energy and "got out there" while the sun was still out.
I was really grateful for that run and that simple image helped put things in perspective for a stressful week that I have had. But I'm still trying to find that balance this semester. When do I rest? When do I push myself to work harder? When is it okay to have fun? I usually think it is ALWAYS okay to have fun. The lines of work and play are delightfully blurry sometimes: Pictured below is a wearable art piece made by a student in the First Year Program at SAIC. I would call this having fun during work time. I'm also "working" on getting ready for the Chicago Marathon in October. While the improving weather will help my motivation to get out and run more, I'm also trying to get enough sleep. Time management, anyone?